On 16th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Health and Care Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on several amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.
Division 1:
The Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Lord Crisp:
Lord Crisp moved amendment 158, after clause 164, to insert the new clause Tobacco products statutory scheme consultation.
Lord Crisp (LD): These amendments would require the Government to consult on a statutory polluter pays scheme imposed on tobacco manufacturers to fund measures to reduce smoking prevalence and improve public health. Hansard
The amendment was agreed. Content: 213 / Not Content 154
The Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 2:
The Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath moved amendment 162, after clause 164, to insert the new clause Appropriate consent to transplantation activities when travelling abroad.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab): With the permission of the House, I will say very briefly, without seeking to open the debate, what the amendment does. It is to amend the Human Tissue Act to prohibit UK citizens from travelling to countries such as China, although the wording in the amendment is not country-specific, for the purpose of organ transplantation. The restrictions are based on ensuring that there is appropriate consent, no coercion and no financial gain.
Forced organ harvesting in China is the crime of forcibly extracting organs from prisoners of conscience, killing the victim in the process. The harvested organs are sold to Chinese officials, Chinese nationals or foreigners for transplantation. This is a very modest amendment, doing our bit to try to prevent this obnoxious habit. I beg to move. Hansard
The amendment was agreed. Content: 203 / Not Content: 159
The Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 3:
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Bishop of Bristol, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Oxford took part in a vote on an amendment on assisted dying tabled by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean:
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con): 170: After Clause 164, insert the following new Clause—
“Assisted dying
(1) The Secretary of State must, within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, lay before Parliament a draft Bill to permit terminally ill, mentally competent adults legally to end their own lives with medical assistance.(2) In preparing the draft Bill and any accompanying documents and in making arrangements to lay them before Parliament, the Secretary of State must take account of the need—(a) to respect that this is a matter of conscience, and(b) to enable Parliament to consider the issue.” Hansard
The amendment was disagreed. Content: 145 / Not Content 179
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Bishop of Bristol, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Oxford voted Not Content.
Division 4:
The Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff concerning mediation to disputes between parents of terminally or seriously ill children and medical staff:
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff moved amendment 172, after clause 164, to insert the new clause Dispute resolution in children’s palliative care.
The amendment was agreed. Content: 112 / Not Content: 107
The Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 5:
The Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Baroness Chakrabarti:
Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab): My Lords, the aim of Amendment 174 is to learn from mistakes made during this pandemic and ensure that, in the event of a public health emergency of international concern, our Government share and support others to share critical knowledge, data, research and intellectual property relating to vaccines, tests, treatments and their associated materials. By sharing this information and intellectual property we can scale up and, crucially, diversify the manufacturing of pandemic tools to ensure equitable access around the world, expediting our ability to end the emergency for all by winning the race against new variants. Hansard
Baroness Chakrabarti moved amendment 174, after clause 164, to insert the new clause Global health emergency international cooperation.
The amendment was disagreed. Content: 82 / Not Content: 115
The Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 6:
The Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Baroness Sugg to extend the provision of at-home early abortion that was originally established during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Baroness Sugg moved amendment 183, after clause 164, to insert the new clause Permitted locations for abortion treatment.
The amendment was agreed. Content: 75 / Not Content: 35
The Bishop of Durham voted Not Content.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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