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| Mairead Maguire 17-October-2023 |
Legislation On Assisted dying in some circumstances would contradict medical best practice, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.
However, some medical practitioners see it as an essential vessel for autonomy for patients with serious illnesses.
The committee is currently examining whether to introduce voluntary assisted dying laws in Ireland, following the passage of a bill tabled by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny in 2020.
The committee was established in January and this morning it heard from three medical representative groups, who clashed on the issue.
In his opening statements, Dr Feargal Twomey, a consultant in palliative medicine at the Royal College of Physicians, said the:
potential harms outweigh the arguments in favour. The concept of autonomy of the person is emphasised often in discussions. However, a person’s autonomy cannot be absolute and must be balanced against the risk of harms to others.
According to data from Oregon in the United States, the three most frequently reported end-of-life concerns were decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable, loss of autonomy, and loss of dignity.
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