That this House notes that the publication by the British Medical Association Ethics Committee in April of the document Advance Statements About Medical Treatment, which accepts living wills as legally binding, has been met with feelings of anxiety and dismay in many sections of the medical profession; further notes that at the recent BMA Annual Conference a motion was passed declaring the document to have been inadequately discussed at all levels within the profession; expresses disappointment that the opportunity was not given to that conference to debate the many other motions of concern regarding euthanasia and the document including a composite motion tabled by the Agenda Committee for the Conference, which listed a number of anxieties including warnings that legislation might 'limit doctors' freedom to act in the best interests of patients' and that 'general refusal of all treatment is dangerous, open to abuse and incompatible with the ethical practice of medicine'; and trusts that the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health will ensure that the Lord Chancellor's Committee considering the Government's response to the flawed Law Commission Report on Mental Incapacity is made aware not only of the motion passed by the BMA Conference, but also of the other motions delegates were not enabled to debate.

That this House notes that the publication by the British Medical Association Ethics Committee in April of the document Advance Statements About Medical Treatment, which accepts living wills as legally binding, has been met with feelings of anxiety and dismay in many sections of the medical profession; further notes that...

That this House notes that in evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics the British Medical Association opposed legally binding living wills/advance directives; notes that because of potential misunderstandings, unreported changes of mind and pressures from doctors, relatives and legatees this view is shared by doctors from the hospice movement and other medical disciplines caring for the aged; notes the BMA Ethics Committee nevertheless has published a document accepting living wills as legally binding, warning that doctors declining to abide by them risk charges of assault although such directives may only be signed pre-printed cards, smart cards, or notes recorded in patients' files; notes that although that document has not been discussed by its Annual Conference, a BMA adviser on medical ethics writes in the British Medical Journal of 24th June that even 'conversational oral statements', such as conversing before television, are open to debate and that medical bodies should consider the conditions under which these should be binding; notes the disingenuity of claims by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State that the Government is opposed to legalising euthanasia whilst asserting that living wills are legally binding in common law; invites the honourable Member for Bolton West to provide the House and the Lord Chancellor's Committee considering the Government's response to the flawed Law Commission Report on Mental Incapacity, with details of the authority for that assertion by listing each court decision in which an advance directive was held to be legally binding.

That this House notes that in evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics the British Medical Association opposed legally binding living wills/advance directives; notes that because of potential misunderstandings, unreported changes of mind and pressures from doctors, relatives and legatees this view is shared by doctors...

That this House welcomes the decisive vote in the Northern Territory Parliament of Australia to legalise voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill people; regards the right of self determination at the end of life as a basic human right; and calls on the Government to bring forward legislation to extend this right to the citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

That this House welcomes the decisive vote in the Northern Territory Parliament of Australia to legalise voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill people; regards the right of self determination at the end of life as a basic human right; and calls on the Government to bring forward legislation to extend this...

That this House notes with interest that in March BBC 2 has arranged to broadcast the Dutch television programme 'Death on Request', which records a Dutch doctor administering a lethal injection to his terminally ill patient; is concerned that the BBC should accurately report the real situation in the Netherlands where in a substantial number of cases euthanasia is carried out without a request from the patients, where the hospice and specialist palliative care movement is very much less developed than in the United Kingdom with the result that patients may request euthanasia in the absence of effective specialist palliative care, and that as a result of the ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court, doctors in the Netherlands may practice euthanasia not only on the physically sick, but also the mentally ill and those who are simply depressed; and calls on the BBC to give a complete and balanced picture of the situation, including prime time for the discussion of the full experience of the slippery slope in the Netherlands and the work of the hospice movement.

That this House notes with interest that in March BBC 2 has arranged to broadcast the Dutch television programme 'Death on Request', which records a Dutch doctor administering a lethal injection to his terminally ill patient; is concerned that the BBC should accurately report the real situation in the Netherlands...

That this House welcomes the recent vote in Oregon State, in the United States of America, which allows competent adult patients suffering from a terminal illness to request a prescription for medication to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner; notes the recent British Medical Journal survey of National Health Service doctors which revealed that nearly half of the doctors surveyed had been asked by a patient to take active steps to hasten death; regards the right of self deliverance as a basic human right which should be extended to all citizens of this country; and calls on the Government to bring forward legislation to allow citizens to exercise this right.

That this House welcomes the recent vote in Oregon State, in the United States of America, which allows competent adult patients suffering from a terminal illness to request a prescription for medication to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner; notes the recent British Medical Journal...