Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank all of our witnesses for being here today. Obviously, we are debating and grappling with this subject. The debate on where we go from here has been ongoing for over a decade. It is good that we are debating the issues here and teasing out the international variations around assisted dying. My questions are for Dr. Jeanne and Professor Battin and relate to the situation in Oregon. Over the past 26 years, I have calculated that an average of 96 people per year have availed of assisted dying in that state. A total of 1,300 people did not avail of assisted dying even though they qualified and were given permission to do so. They chose not to, for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes there is comfort for people who are terminally ill when they know they have an exit strategy and one that is under their control rather than the control of anyone else. It is very important that those who find themselves in such circumstances have a say in all of this. It is a human rights issue.

As far as I can determine, the parameters that apply in Oregon have not changed in the past 26 years. What has the support within the medical community been like over the period? I presume there was a lot of opposition at the start and there is probably still some degree of opposition now. What has the narrative been from the perspective of the medical community over the past 26 years in terms of the evolution of the situation? Are the models that operate in other states in the US similar to the one pertaining in Oregon?