Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Ethics of End-of-Life Care: Discussion

Dr. Kevin Yuill:

I am sorry if there is deeply distasteful language. I am not certain which part of my language the Deputy found distasteful. There is a problem with language. When, as is the case in many jurisdictions, death by purposely ingesting deadly drugs is defined as something other than suicide, that is a corruption of the English language. This is the case in California, Oregon and Canada, where these kinds of deaths are defined as dying of the underlying disease. It is simply not true. They are dying by the particular deadly drugs given to these people. Will the Deputy state which distasteful language he is talking about?