A group of Irish doctors have condemned moves to legalise assisted suicide in the Republic of Ireland, stating that society’s most vulnerable people could begin to feel like burdens and “come under pressure to end their lives prematurely.”
In a letter to The Irish Examiner, the group of doctors, who are members of the Irish Palliative Medicine Consultants’ Association (IPMCA) called on politicians to oppose the Dying with Dignity Bill, to legalise assisted suicide throughout the Republic of Ireland. A vote is expected on 7 October.
Antonia Tully of SPUC’s lives Worth Living campaign said: “We know that in countries where assisted suicide is legal, many who ‘choose’ to die report that they want to avoid becoming a burden on family and carers. Over a third of Canadians who were killed by assisted suicide in 2019 claimed that they feared being a burden on family, friends and caregivers if they continued to live.
“In Washington State in 2018, 51% of people who were killed by assisted suicide said that being a burden on family, friends and caregivers was a reason to end their lives.
“Similarly in Oregon in 2018, 54.2% of people killed by assisted suicide said that being a burden on family, friends and caregivers was a reason to end their lives.”
Doctors have a duty to protect lives
Doctors from the IPMCA said: “Based on our collective experience over many decades of providing specialist care to thousands of individuals in Ireland and their families each year, we have closely observed the experiences of people who have lived and are living with serious illness.
“We worry about the impact on people who already struggle to have their voices heard in our society - older adults, the disabled, those with mental illness and others.
"We fear that the most vulnerable are those who may be made to feel a burden to their families and come under pressure to end their lives prematurely.”
In 2019, a major poll for Care Not Killing found that 48% of people thought that introducing physician-assisted suicide would fundamentally change the doctor-patient relationship. The survey of over 2,000 members of the public found high levels of concern about vulnerable people, who would feel pressure to end their lives, with four in 10 saying changing the law risks normalising suicide.
Reject suicide and value human life
SPUC’s Antonia Tully added: “If this Bill is successful, people in the Republic of Ireland will be able to self-administer lethal drugs and anyone helping would have legal protection. This is such a negative and soul-destroying way to treat a sick or dying person.
“Assisted suicide is a form of false compassion. We must resist all attempts to normalise this dangerous practice and instead promote a society where each human life is valued and respected.”
You can find more information about SPUC’s campaign against assisted suicide here.