Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor MacLeod. I agree with everything Professor White said in respect of moving from ethical considerations of the right and wrong of it to the factual analysis of the impact of things and the importance of a fully evidence-based approach.

Notwithstanding my agreement with Professor White, I note he was commissioned by the state government of Victoria, Western Australia to design and deliver the legislatively mandated training for practitioners who wish to provide voluntary assisted dying. Some people might consider that to mean he has skin in the game. I suppose there are very few people who do not have an opinion one way or the other. However, what I found surprising was where he said he had reviewed the evidence, including two decades of experience in places overseas, which show that vulnerable individuals are not more likely to use voluntary assisted dying and that it can be regulated safely. I consider the evidence of such people as Theo Boer from the Netherlands who was originally involved in the assessment of euthanasia and has pulled back because of concerns about what he sees happening. Can Professor White credibly claim what he claims, when we see what has happened in Canada, that is the proposed extension - although there is at least a temporary pullback or pause - of access to medically assisted dying on grounds of mental illness? We will have to see where that goes. Where the waiting time for medically assisted dying is shorter than for palliative care, where we hear stories of and read reports about very vulnerable people finding themselves being offered assisted dying instead of the healthcare support they need, how can the claim made by Professor White be credible, that a full review of the evidence of two decades showed it can be regulated safely?