Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in and giving us a greater insight into the roles that doctors, physicians and nurses have within this debate. I was touched by something Professor Chochinov said earlier. He stated:

A wish to die is an expression of human suffering. Clinicians must learn to sit down and lean into discussions exploring the nature of patients’ anguish, discerning their sources of distress, identifying potential solutions or mitigation strategies, recognising that even the very acknowledgement of suffering, like feeling a burden to others, or no longer feeling like the person they once were, is a form of affirmation that can sustain patients’ sense of worth and safeguard integrity of personhood.

I thought that was a very powerful paragraph and I wanted to restate it.

How could an intensive caring model be rolled out in Ireland? Within the palliative care medical professions, are there further supports that could be considered in our hospitals? Should we focus on dignity therapy rather than assisted suicide legislation as a better way to deal with the complexities and hard cases that often emerge in these discussions about end-of-life care? Professor Chochinov stated there is a link between acknowledging a patient's personhood and healthcare professionals' job satisfaction. Will he tell us more about this relationship and how it impacts on the healthcare professions? "Do no harm" is a central overriding concern of all doctors. How does the “wish to die” context, as he described it, impact on the medical profession?

Turning to Dr. Neal, conscientious objection has been mentioned by every witness before the committee in the context of retaining it within our legislation. She stated there is evidence that levels of conscientious objection to assisted dying are relatively high within the health professions. Why does she think that is the case? What concerns does she have regarding legislation on assisted suicide and how it can normalise its availability in society?

It will be essential to protect the freedom of conscientious objection should assisted suicide be legislated for. A failure in this regard would run a risk of losing healthcare workers who would pay the price of their job rather than breach their conscience on this matter. Is Dr. Neal aware of any examples of where legislation on this has led to problems among healthcare workers in other jurisdictions?