Dr. Stephen Duckworth:

I will pick up on the first point around the reason for my change of mind. This was based on the evidence sessions. We sat 12 times over 12 months and heard evidence for approximately four hours from a face-to-face perspective. We had more than 12,000 written responses. We visited jurisdictions around the world where assisted dying is legal. The evidence I heard from dying people was so harrowing that it caused me to realise that a terminally ill person who is requesting an assisting death is actually not choosing between living and dying; they are choosing between two different ways of dying. These are either potentially through enduring avoidable suffering, or through a peaceful death where they are surrounded by their family and friends who are celebrating their life.