Catholic bishops condemn Irish assisted suicide bill as a “failure of compassion”

18 February 2021

Catholic bishops in Ireland have denounced the Irish “Dying with Dignity Bill” as “a failure of compassion on the part of society”.

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference made its views known through its Council for Life and the Consultative Group on Bioethics, which contributed to the ongoing review of the proposed assisted suicide law by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice.

“The Committee would best serve humanity and the common good of society by recommending to the Oireachtas that this Bill should not be passed”, said the bishops.

The so-called “Dying with Dignity Bill”, according to its own wording, claims to seek “to make provision for assistance in achieving a dignified and peaceful end of life to qualifying persons and related matters” in the Republic of Ireland.

Calling out the dishonest wording of the legislation, the bishops stated that it would be “appropriate to refer to the Bill as an ‘assisted suicide’ bill”, since the legislation is “essentially about making provision for a person who wishes to end his or her life, to make a formal declaration to that effect and to seek medical assistance in doing so”.

Politicians should “honestly recognise” the Bill for what it really is.

Aside from its wording, the Bishops’ Conference concluded that the Bill is “radically counter to the common good”.

“We have a moral responsibility to care for our neighbour according to the Gospel image of the Good Samaritan”, they continued, also noting that the Bill makes no adequate provision to protect the vulnerable, through such means as palliative care for the terminally ill.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “What the elderly and other vulnerable persons need most of all is care and compassion, not death dressed up as kindness.

“The Catholic Irish bishops are absolutely right to emphasise the spirit of the Good Samaritan and the responsibility society has to provide for the sick.

“Assisted suicide is not compassion. Nor is it dignified. It is a quick way out for a society that is failing in its duty of care, especially to the old who are increasingly treated as problems to be done away with.

“As the bishops rightly note, this is not compassion. It is a failure of society.”

“Vulnerable people will feel pressure to die”: Irish doctors condemn assisted suicide

Catholic bishops condemn Irish assisted suicide bill as a “failure of compassion”

18 February 2021

Catholic bishops in Ireland have denounced the Irish “Dying with Dignity Bill” as “a failure of compassion on the part of society&rd...

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