Dr. Feargal Twomey:

At one of the very early hearings, the committee had witnesses from the Department of Justice to discuss what is legal around people who are dying in this country. One of the things that is legal is for somebody to decline to have treatment they do not want. It is also legal for healthcare professionals and individuals to discuss treatment that is appropriate or not going to help or be more harmful and to come to a shared decision. It is also legal for people to refuse to eat or drink, but that happens extremely rarely, from my experience in practice, particularly in people with advanced illness who are very close to the end of their lives anyway. There is definitely evidence of the impact on healthcare workers from Holland and Canada, medical and nursing staff predominantly but also social workers, of their involvement in assisted dying, which comes in various forms, as outlined in the draft Bill that we are-----