Failing to legislate for assisted dying ‘most dangerous option’, committee told

Failing to legislate for assisted dying is “the most dangerous” option that the State could take, an Oireachtas committee has been told.

The Committee on Assisted Dying is currently examining possible policy and legislative changes around the issue and was told on Tuesday morning that not taking action is forcing people to “take matters into their own hands”.

Lloyd Riley, the Director of Policy and Research at Dignity in Dying UK, said it would be “an error to consider a blanket ban on assisted dying as a satisfactory holding position from which we can tread water”.

“The most dangerous thing we can do in this debate is nothing. Doing nothing will not stop dying people, whose suffering often cannot be relieved by even the very best care, from acting upon their wish for more choice and control. Doing nothing does not eradicate demand for assisted dying; instead it forces people to take matters into their hands. Whether that be by travelling overseas to a country that respects their wishes or planning a violent death at home.”

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He said that the picture painted by those who oppose legislative change “invariably hinges on what ifs, hypotheticals and worse-case scenarios”.

“Nearly 30 jurisdictions around the world encompassing over 250 million people have learned those lessons and gone on to change their laws. There is a growing body of evidence to show that those laws are safe, compassionate, popular and a catalyst for improving care across the board. None have been repealed.”

Chief Executive of Humanists UK, Andrew Copson, said support for assisted dying must be contextualised in changing societal views.

“Recent census data in Northern Ireland shows that one-in-six now identify as non-religious, nearly doubling in just 10 years. The Republic of Ireland has seen a similar trend with over 730,000 people – representing 14 per cent of the usual resident population – ticking ‘no religion’ in the 2022 Census, more than doubling since 2011. The demographics of Irish society will continue to change and citizen’s deeply held cultural and religious beliefs change. One of the best ways for democratic institutions to stay with the times and the social outlook of their societies is to give individuals a choice.”

Mr Copson said the current status quo “puts families in a desperate, inhumane position”.

“They essentially have three options. They watch their loved one suffer, they take matters into their own hands, or they spend extortionate amounts fleeing their home country to an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland. These options are immoral.”

He argued that being given the option of assisted dying should not be based on a doctor’s prognosis of how long a person has to live, but instead it should be up to the person themselves to determine when their quality of life falls below what they deem to be tolerable.

“Individuals with neurological degenerative conditions could potentially live for years in unnecessary pain and suffering. There are other incurable physical conditions that make people’s lives intolerable but won’t lead to death in the foreseeable future. These people deserve a choice.”

Legal adviser to the Pro Life Campaign, William Binchy, argued against moving towards legislating for change.

“The proposal that the law should authorise the provision of assistance in the taking of life is one that challenges the foundations of the value system on which our society has been based for millennia. It resonates through society, deeply affecting family members and friends, and having indirect effects on others.”

He said while the Pro Life Campaign respects people’s autonomy, “we appreciate that the right to autonomy has definite limits. It should not be exercised in a way that damages the rights and interests of others.”

“If you think of the flow through consequences, the right to autonomy is restricted by the damage it might cause others. And there are others. They are older people, people with disabilities, people who are in a vulnerable situation who feel they are a burden to society.” He said “such people do in fact end their lives, that’s the price, that’s the challenge”.