Irish public deserve a full debate on Dying with Dignity Bill

Last week in a letter to the editor published by the Irish Times (https://lnkd.in/e5jpiPS), Irish Hospice Foundation continued our call for the absolute necessity of a robust, inclusive and thorough public debate on the issue of assisted dying. We would maintain that the current Dying with Dignity Bill currently before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice serves to highlight more questions and concerns about this issue than answer them.

The Dying with Dignity Bill says it is “An Act to make provision for assistance in achieving a dignified and peaceful end of life to qualifying persons and related matters” but in this regard the Bill only addresses how to enable a person to end their own life.

In the letter we wrote that we believe that every person deserves a ‘good death’. We outlined that through our work in the community, nursing homes, hospitals and residential care settings people tell us a ‘good death’ is one where pain and suffering are managed to the best extent possible.

Dying with dignity is about so much more than the right to end your own life, it is about a palliative care approach which improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life threatening illness. In our People’s Charter on Dying, Death and Bereavement (https://lnkd.in/ee4z72j) we were told that people want to live and die in an Ireland where death is talked about and not hidden away; they want to be pain-free; they want to be treated with and die with dignity; they want to be secure in the knowledge their wishes will be respected; they want to feel comfortable and cared for, ideally at home; to have access to good services and information and to know their grieving loved ones will be supported after their death.

The responses to the letter including from Dr Ciaran Clarke, Chairman of Human Rights and Ethics Committee at the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (https://lnkd.in/emnMsTS @irshpsychiatry) agreed about the need for debate and discussion on this area, particularly about the risks it may pose to more vulnerable groups.

In our submission on the Dying with Dignity Bill in January 2021 (https://lnkd.in/eiECzQv), we called for the absolute necessity of public debate on the issue of assisted dying. We continue to hold this position. The debate must be robust, considered, dignified, inclusive and respectful of all views in this highly complex issue. We believe there are two possible outlets for this important debate - the Citizens’ Assembly or a special Dáil Committee is established. 

A robust debate on this issue is something we will continue to advocate for as we believe this is what the Irish public deserve and need.