'The holistic nature of our care, the presence, the confidence to bear witness to all suffering is what underpins hospice care. To introduce 'death on demand' as an option seems to be a tragic and unnecessary development'
Baroness Finlay led debate on the difficulty of assessing terminally ill patients and determining a prognosis - an issue critical to the viability of Lord Falconer's bill which was receiving its second day of committee consideration
Dr Jeff Stephenson, Medical Director of St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth, describes the challenges palliative care might be facing in 20 years time - in a Britain where assisted suicide is legal.
82% of Association for Palliative Medicine members oppose a change in the law on assisted suicide, with 72% saying passage of a Falconer-type bill would have an adverse effect on the delivery of palliative care
