Biography
Lord Falconer of Thoroton engaged extensively on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill through 40 debate speeches, primarily addressing procedural and implementation issues including medical professionals' participation, institutional opt-outs for hospices, and safeguards against negligence claims. His contributions focused on technical amendments concerning preliminary discussions, employment protections, and clarifications that assisted dying should not be presented as a routine treatment option. He expressed disappointment that the Bill failed to progress due to procedural obstacles rather than on its merits, despite acknowledging personal testimonies from peers on the issue.
Generated from their own Hansard record, below
“…The first is that of Elise Burns, who is in the Gallery today. She has terminal cancer. She said that she would love Peers “to look me in the eye and tell me why me and my friends, and anyone with terminal illness, don’t deserve to die with dignity and to have the choice to die as they choose, without pain”.”
Record by topic
- Assisted dying7th of 371124.0
- Palliative & end of life care6th of 568102.0
- Mental health140th of 88024.0
- Cancer96th of 62216.0
- Learning disability & autism441st of 8998.0
- Rare diseases46th of 2026.0
- Diabetes62nd of 1904.0
- Health inequalities245th of 2882.0
- Elderly care & frailty166th of 2362.0
What they’ve said
“…Members of the public, who support assisted dying by a very large margin, will be asking themselves why Parliament has failed to enact a measure that they believed would and should become law after Members of Parliament voted in favour of it in the other place.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-04-24 · Read on Hansard ↗
“I apologise for intervening but I completely agree with what the noble Baroness has just said. The way in which that would happen is that the Bill would come back from the Commons and we would agree here to put in the amendments that I put in as a result of the power of the noble Baroness’s speeches.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-04-24 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…It incorporates that anybody who is being prejudiced against because they will not participate in terminal illness matters is given every single right under the Employment Rights Act.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-03-27 · Read on Hansard ↗
“Yes, there can be no duty to raise a question of assisted dying if an Act of Parliament says that there is no duty to raise it. That case, the Montgomery case and the normal negligence cases do not in any way lurk in the background waiting to, as it were, stop this.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-03-27 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…One of them is assisted dying. The worry that the noble Baroness expresses is that if it is a thing that can be done, using it neutrally, if you do not tell the patient that then you could be negligent or in some problems.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-03-27 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.