This past weekend, a conference took place in Dublin which aimed to highlight the growing global concerns over Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia.
Organised by Hope Ireland, it was entitled ‘Living and Dying with Dignity’ and brought together international and domestic experts in the field of end of life matters, with an audience of medical experts and healthcare professionals.
The event came amidst global incredulity over the behaviour of Left Wing politicians in the Joint Committee for Assisted Dying, particularly Senator Lynn Ruane who as been overwhelmingly criticised for her outrageous treatment of Professor William Binchey.
The speakers at Saturday’s Conference spoke in a far more detailed and respectful tone than did Senator Ruane.
The first speaker, Professor Des O’Neill, spoke of Ireland’s aversion to debates around ethics, particularly in the medical field. He spoke of how the Irish media and political fields reduce all debates surrounding morality and ethics to judgements on the role of the Catholic Church in society, something which he said was neither helpful nor apt.
Professor O’Neill also lamented the ‘romanticisation’ of Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia, which often ignores some of the brutal realities.
As an example, he gave an anecdote of a frightening news story from the Netherlands in 2017, wherein a doctor required the assistance of an older woman’s family in order to pin her down so that he could euthanise her.
Professor O’Neill pointed out that poor care and negligence often precede the desperation immediately prior to the decision to undergo Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia.
Due to the widening of criteria, he stated that it is not merely a ‘slippery slope’, but a ‘Pandora’s Box’ that is opened up.
He was followed by Dr. Gordon MacDonald or Care Not Killing, an alliance of organisations that oppose Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia.
MacDonald also warned of the ‘slippery slope’ and of how increasing healthcare costs were driving people to Assisted Suicide in Canada while also leading to increases in suicides in the general population, as the normalisation of self destruction becomes commonplace.
Keynote speaker Alex Schadenberg is a veteran campaigner on this issue, having campaigned since the 1990s.
He told a litany of horror stories from Canada, including veterans with disabilities being offered euthanasia instead of ramps for their wheelchairs and others with PTSD being offered the same treatment for their condition.
He also warned, in something relevant for Ireland, of new criteria which will expand to those who have addictions and mental health issues in March 2024.
Lastly, palliative care consultant Miriam Colleran spoke of how the most vulnerable at the end of their lives would be affected by any proposed changes to the law.
We recommend following their Twitter account for keeping up to date on proceedings, the Join Committee will run until March in the Oireachtas.
