Hello, I'm Alyssa MacArthur. Thanks for downloading the Yesterday in Parliament podcast.

On Friday the 12th of December, the assisted dying bill returned to the House of Lords

amid claims and counterclaims that the thousandplus amendments are designed to hold the bill up.

Backers of the legislation suspect a deliberate go-slow. Opponents argue they're doing their

rightful job of probing the detail of what's proposed. The law would allow over 18s in England

and Wales with less than six months to live, the right to ask for help to end their

life. Putting forward one of the many amendments in the Lords, a labour peer Lord Rook, asked that

anyone seeking an assisted death should have been registered with a GP for 12 months and should

have had two contacts with that practice, whether in person, at home or online. He argued it wouldn't

create a barrier, but could address real concerns such as doctor shopping. We see it in pain

management, in cosmetic procedures, even in end-of-life discussions. When someone is desperate,

frightened or grieving, they simply will go from clinician to clinician

until they find the answer they feel they want and need.

Claire Gerada was previously the president of the Royal College of GPs.

Now a member of the crossbench peers,

she said modern doctors' practices worked as teams

that included nurses, pharmacists and palliative care.

So whilst I understand the need to have a GP involved, I think it's rather reductive.

We deliver continuity in today's world through our medical record, which actually is a complete record of the individual they have from cradle to grave.

Other peers wanted even more input from GPs before an assisted death could go ahead,

including home visits. A non-party peer, Lady Fox, thought that was impractical.

Home visits are mentioned in a number of the amendment. Home visits? Who's ever had a home

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