Ireland urged not to legislate on assisted suicide

Assisted suicide laws “put vulnerable people at risk” and should not be countenanced in Ireland, a Senator has warned.

Senator Rónán Mullen urged parliamentarians to take note of the conclusion reached by the Scottish Parliament, that “introducing assisted suicide was unsafe and dangerous”.

Last week, MSPs rejected an attempt to legalise state-funded suicide by 69 votes to 57. Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill has now fallen, and will not be considered further.

Care not killing

Mullen told fellow Senators: “If that Bill had passed in the Scottish Parliament and gone on to become law, it would have ushered in an irrevocable change that would have put vulnerable people at risk and seen the ending of thousands of lives through assisted suicide in Scotland.”

He called for strong political leadership on the issue, noting that “the First Minister of Scotland, as well as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and the Deputy First Minister, all voted against this Bill”.

He also pointed to the need for countries “to provide proper assistance” to those at the end of their lives by providing high-quality palliative care, alongside broader support, “so that people do not feel pressured into thinking that their lives do not matter or matter less”.

Noting Mullen’s concern that people facing a terminal diagnosis should receive appropriate support and care, Senator Seán Kyne said he would “request a debate on the matter of ageing, palliative care and areas around that”.

Lesson

Christian Institute Director Ciarán Kelly said: “Senator Mullen has summed it up perfectly. There is no safe way to legislate for assisted suicide and the next time the campaigners come along talking about ‘safeguards’ they should be sent on their way.

“I would ask the Oireachtas not to let itself be drawn into taking away hope from scared and vulnerable people but instead invest its time and compassion in the only kind of ‘assisted dying’ people actually want – better palliative care.”

Ireland’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2024 stalled following a change of Government.

Responding to the outcome at Holyrood, its Deputy Director Simon Calvert said: “We thank God that MSPs got the message that they simply could not pass this wretched Bill. I think the lesson for Holyrood – and for Westminster too – is that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ assisted suicide Bill.