Voluntary Assisted Dying — The Issues

By Alan Tuffery

Because of the extreme pressure on space in Dublin People, it is not possible to publish the rest of this series of articles in full.

There is a total of 15 articles of which about half were published — for which I and End of Life Ireland are most grateful.

We believe that Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) should be permitted by law in Ireland as an act of compassion.

No-one should have to die a slow, painful or undignified death in modern Ireland. Many other countries have managed to introduce legislation for VAD and operate it with proper safeguards.

There are no known cases of individuals being hassled into seeking VAD — the safeguards work. Such legislation when in place is typically supported by about 90% of the populace.

In Ireland opinion polls consistently show about 65% support for the introduction of VAD.

The Whole Story

There are about 15 articles in the full series.

About half of them were published and dealt with the reasons for seeking VAD, how VAD would work in Ireland, the legal safeguards and the legal and ethical issues.

The later unpublished articles deal with the relationship of VAD and palliative care, the so-called ‘vulnerable groups’ and the doctor-patient relationship.

Running themes were the right of individuals to make decisions about their own lives — and deaths, the ways of making your wishes known and the supports for making decisions. (The new Decision Support Service is currently advertising)

One article dealt with the religious argument against VAD — which is rarely stated plainly as ‘my religion says it’s wrong’. Such sincerely held beliefs are of course respected but that does not allow religious groups to ban the laws that others want. (We have seen that reinforced in recent referendums on marriage equality and abortion.) Objectors need not use the services the law allows.

However, all is not lost because the full series of articles is available on the End of Life Ireland website (www.endoflifeireland.ie, see Resources).

My Inspiration

I was inspired to become active in the campaign for VAD by Gaynor Ffrench, a 48-year-old with a very full life who had breast cancer which had spread to her liver and bones and she knew she was dying.

She spent her remaining time campaigning for the right to die with dignity in Ireland. (The contributions of two other inspirational women, Marie Fleming and Vicky Phelan are too well-known to need repetition.)

I want to make Ireland a more compassionate society that does not allow anyone to die in great pain and suffering, without offering the choice of a controlled death.

An individual’s death is not an isolated incident. Each of us has friends and family who care about us and about whom we care.

A controlled, peaceful death benefits not only the individual, but also the family and friends, whose own pain and grief will be considerably eased.

Time for Reflection and Action

I invite readers to think about these issues for themselves and to have conversations about them.

End of Life Ireland has two useful sayings: ‘a kinder death is possible’ and ‘change starts with a conversation’.

Leave the law alone and you leave the dying to die alone. It is time to act.

Alan Tuffery is a member of End of Life Ireland, a voluntary group advocating for legislation to allow Voluntary Assisted Dying in Ireland.

The Oireachtas has set up a Joint Committee on Assisted Dying. All articles in this series are available on the EOLI website.