Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Ethics of End-of-Life Care: Discussion

Dr. Thomas Finegan:

I am arguing that, morally speaking, there is no such right and that any such right is premised on the idea that your life has lost or is losing value such that death is preferable. It is one thing for you to think that; it is another thing entirely for a healthcare system to endorse it and facilitate it, even if only implicitly, because it has implications for the treatment of others well beyond your particular context. Personally, I would never do anything to kill you, if that is what you are asking.