Stay Away From The Trap

In the House of Lords debate on euthanasia, Lord Carlile of Berriew QC pointed out that the Bill would have given to a High Court judge in the Family Division such power over life and death as no judge in this country had enjoyed since the abolition of capital punishment.

As is possible in the Lords, the Bill was then given a Second Reading without a Division, meaning that its own proposer expected it to fail at a later stage when a vote would have to be held.

After all, no one, including eminent members of the Bar, wants to give judges the power of life and death.