Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 7 November 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Protecting Autonomy and Assessing Decision-making Capacity: Discussion

Mr. Justin McKenna:

Deputy Kenny is the politician, and that is a political question. There are models popping up all the time. The Isle of Man recently passed a law. It is happening so fast that it is taking other people all their time, from an academic perspective, to examine it. Ultimately, that is something the politicians are going to have to crystallise. From our point of view, we could take a liberal view or we could take a conservative view. I suppose I would be more inclined to take a liberal view and lean towards the patients exercising autonomy. They are the ones we should listen to. A doctor will say that a condition is terminal, but it is the patient who will say whether it is intolerable or if they can suffer it any longer. The means to an end should be in the hands of the patient.