On the 30th of January, the Law Society proudly welcomed Lord Pannick as its guest speaker. Lord Pannick is a leading barrister and a crossbencher in the House of Lords. He mainly practises in the areas of public law and human rights.
Lord Pannick was talking to HABS boys about the Assisted Dying Bill, which enables competent adults who are terminally ill to be provided at their request with specified assistance to end their own life. This Bill is currently in the committee stage at the House of Lords, though it is not likely to become law in the immediate future due to parliamentary time constraints.
Lord Pannick outlined the principles behind the Bill and gave examples of specific cases to illustrate how and when it might apply. He did, however, mention that certain safeguards will need to be in place and that only people with the mental capacity to make the decision would be allowed to end their lives. Another important safeguard he discussed was the condition that people who suffer from a terminal illness can only end their life if they have been given less than six months to live.
On the whole it was a very informative event with the boys learning about the Bill and debating the ethics behind it.
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