Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Healthcare Professionals and Assisted Dying: Discussion

Dr. Laura Chapman:

Yes. I do not know if that is a difference between Ireland and New Zealand. In New Zealand, we started from palliative care being very against assisted dying. One in 33 of our hospices allows assisted dying, that is the death, to occur on site but many more in the past two years have started to allow assessments. Assisted dying and palliative care are learning to work together. Palliative care is learning that assisted dying has no interest in doing anything other than support patients to receive great palliative care and assisted dying is just the very end point where some patients may choose to make different decisions. However, psychotherapy is not mandated under our law.

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