Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Assisted Dying in the United States: Discussion

Dr. Mark Komrad:

They are stored in grandma's closet in the hope that the suicidal granddaughter does not find them.

With regard to reporting – which will be my final point and then I will yield – it is very important to note that a paper that is prepublication from the British Medical Journal states that financial worries occurred as a motivation in 50% of people, not 5%. The reporting shows that although there is a 15% rate of complications, including nine patients who actually woke up from the intended lethal experience and did not complete it, the recording is full of holes. The error rate of filling out the reports is as high as 70% or 80%, particularly when it comes to reporting complications.