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|
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(1) | A person commits an offence if he wilfully falsifies or forges a declaration |
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made or purporting to be made under section 4 with the intent or effect of |
| |
causing the patient’s death. |
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(2) | A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable, on conviction |
| 5 |
on indictment, to imprisonment for life. |
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(3) | A person commits an offence if he makes a statement as a witness to a |
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declaration made, or purporting to be made, under section 4 that he knows to |
| |
| |
(4) | A person commits an offence if he wilfully conceals or destroys a declaration. |
| 10 |
(5) | A physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or member of a health care team who |
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takes any part in assisting a qualifying patient to die, or who gives an opinion |
| |
in respect of such a patient, and who has grounds for believing that he will |
| |
benefit financially or in any other way, except for his proper professional fees |
| |
or salary, as the result of the death of that patient, contrary to section 8(5) |
| 15 |
| |
(6) | A person guilty of an offence under subsections (3) to (5) shall be liable on |
| |
conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years |
| |
| |
(7) | No provision of this Act shall be taken to affect a person’s liability on |
| 20 |
conviction to criminal penalties for conduct which is inconsistent with the |
| |
| |
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No policy of insurance which has been in force for 12 months as at the date of |
| |
the patient’s death shall be invalidated by reason of a physician having assisted |
| 25 |
a qualifying patient to die in accordance with this Act. |
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11 | Requirements as to documentation in medical records and reporting |
| |
| |
(1) | The assisting physician shall ensure that the following are documented and |
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filed in the patient’s medical records— |
| 30 |
(a) | all evidence, data and records which demonstrate that the qualifying |
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conditions have been met; |
| |
(b) | any written request by the patient for assistance to end his life; |
| |
| |
(d) | a note by the assisting physician stating that he was satisfied, at the date |
| 35 |
and time of his having assisted the patient to die, that all requirements |
| |
under this Act had been met and indicating the steps taken to end the |
| |
patient’s life including the description and quantity of the medication |
| |
and any means of self-administration prescribed or provided. |
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(2) | The assisting physician shall send a copy of each of the documents referred to |
| 40 |
in subsection (1) of this section to the monitoring commission for the region |
| |
concerned within seven days of the qualifying patient having been assisted to |
| |
die or of an attempt so to assist having been made. |
| |
|
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|
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|
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall by order establish such number of monitoring |
| |
commissions covering regions forming parts of England and Wales as he may |
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determine, to review the operation of this Act and to hold and monitor records |
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maintained pursuant to this Act. |
| 5 |
(2) | A monitoring commission shall consist of three members appointed by the |
| |
Secretary of State, of whom— |
| |
(a) | one shall be a registered medical practitioner; |
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(b) | one shall be a solicitor or barrister; and |
| |
(c) | one shall be a lay person having first hand experience in caring for a |
| 10 |
person with a terminal illness. |
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(3) | If, in relation to documents sent to a monitoring commission in accordance |
| |
with section 11(2), two of its members consider that the qualifying conditions |
| |
have not been met, the declaration had not been validly made or had been |
| |
revoked, or that the requirements of this Act had not been complied with, the |
| 15 |
monitoring commission shall refer the matter to the district coroner. |
| |
(4) | A monitoring commission to which documents have been sent in accordance |
| |
with section 11(2) shall confirm to the assisting physician concerned whether |
| |
all the requirements of this Act have been complied with as soon as reasonably |
| |
possible after the date of receiving such notification of the patient having been |
| 20 |
assisted to die or of an attempt so to assist having been made. |
| |
(5) | The Secretary of State shall publish an annual statistical report of information |
| |
collected under this section. |
| |
| |
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“assisting physician” means the physician who assists the patient to die; |
| |
“attending physician” means the physician who has primary |
| |
responsibility for the care of the patient and the treatment of the |
| |
| |
“consulting physician” means a consultant physician who is qualified by |
| 30 |
specialty to make a professional diagnosis and prognosis regarding the |
| |
patient’s illness and who is independent of the attending physician; |
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“declaration” means a witnessed declaration in writing made under |
| |
section 4 by the patient; |
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“health care team” means a person or persons assisting the attending |
| 35 |
physician or the consulting physician; |
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“informed decision” means a decision by a patient to request assistance to |
| |
die, which is based on an appreciation of the relevant facts and after |
| |
having been fully informed in accordance with section 2 of— |
| |
(a) | his medical diagnosis; |
| 40 |
| |
(c) | the process of being assisted to die; and |
| |
(d) | the alternatives to being assisted to die, including, but not |
| |
limited to, palliative care, care in a hospice and the control of |
| |
| 45 |
|
| |
|
| |
|
“monitoring commission” means a commission set up by the Secretary of |
| |
State to monitor the workings of this Act in a region forming a part of |
| |
| |
“nurse” means a nurse practitioner who is registered with the Nursing |
| |
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“patient” means a person who is under the care of a physician; |
| |
“physician” means a medical practitioner who is fully registered with the |
| |
| |
“psychiatrist” means a physician who is a specialist in psychiatry; |
| |
“psychologist” means a person who is registered with the British |
| 10 |
Psychological Society as a chartered clinical psychologist; |
| |
“qualifying conditions” means the conditions set out in section 2(2) to (4); |
| |
“qualifying patient” means a patient who— |
| |
(a) | has reached the age of majority, and |
| |
(b) | after having been registered for primary health care in England |
| 15 |
and Wales for a period of at least twelve months has made a |
| |
declaration that is for the time being in force; |
| |
| |
(i) | all the qualifying conditions have been met, and |
| |
(ii) | the requirements of section 5(3) have been complied |
| 20 |
| |
“signed” in relation to the signature of a patient on a document means |
| |
| |
(a) | by the patient writing his own signature, or |
| |
(b) | where the patient cannot write legibly either through illiteracy |
| 25 |
or physical infirmity, by the patient leaving his mark, or |
| |
(c) | where the patient through physical infirmity cannot either sign |
| |
or make his mark, by a third party signing for the patient at his |
| |
direction and so indicating on the document after the signature |
| |
and adding his own full name and address; |
| 30 |
“terminal illness” means an illness which in the opinion of both the |
| |
attending and the consulting physician— |
| |
(a) | is inevitably progressive, |
| |
(b) | cannot be reversed by treatment (although treatment may be |
| |
successful in relieving symptoms temporarily), and |
| 35 |
(c) | will be likely to result in the patient’s death within six months; |
| |
“unbearable suffering” means suffering whether by reason of pain, |
| |
distress or otherwise which the patient finds so severe as to be |
| |
| |
“witness” means a person who signs a declaration by way of attestation. |
| 40 |
(2) | Grammatical variations of words and expressions to which definitions are |
| |
assigned in this section shall be construed in accordance with the definitions. |
| |
14 | Power to make orders and regulations |
| |
(1) | The Secretary of State may at any time by order make such supplementary, |
| |
incidental, consequential or transitional provision as appears to him to be |
| 45 |
necessary or expedient for the general or particular purposes of this Act or in |
| |
consequence of any of its provisions or for giving full effect to it. |
| |
(2) | The Secretary of State may make regulations under this Act— |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(a) | determining classes of persons who may or may not witness a |
| |
| |
(b) | regulating the custody of records and the collection of information |
| |
regarding the operation of this Act; |
| |
(c) | making provision about appointments to and the operation of the |
| 5 |
monitoring commissions; and |
| |
(d) | providing a code of practice for the guidance of physicians, members of |
| |
health care teams and other persons acting in accordance with the |
| |
| |
(3) | The power to make orders and regulations under this Act is exercisable by |
| 10 |
statutory instrument and includes power to make different provision for |
| |
| |
(4) | A statutory instrument containing regulations made under section 4(1) is |
| |
subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of |
| |
Parliament and no other statutory instrument may be made under this Act |
| 15 |
unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a |
| |
resolution of, each House of Parliament. |
| |
15 | Amendment of the Suicide Act 1961 |
| |
Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961 (c. 60) is amended by inserting after subsection |
| |
| 20 |
“(3A) | Subsection (1) does not apply where a person assists another person to |
| |
die, or where a person helps another person to assist a third person to |
| |
die, or where a person is present when another person ends his own life |
| |
or attempts to do so, in accordance with sections 1 and 8 of the Assisted |
| |
Dying for the Terminally Ill Act 2005.” |
| 25 |
16 | Short title and extent |
| |
(1) | This Act may be cited as the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Act 2005. |
| |
(2) | This Act does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland. |
| |
|
| |
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