Dr. Sinead Donnelly:

I do not think it is wise legislation, as Deputy Higgins has probably gathered, as a palliative medicine doctor with 33 years experience caring for people who are dying. If society insists on having such legislation, which I think is very unwise because of the risks to vulnerable people, then if one person chooses euthanasia, is euthanised or receives assisted suicide due to a feeling of burden or coercion that is one too many in an entire population.

That is how I see it.

Coercion happens in very subtle ways. It is not based on class. If you are in an upper social class, you are equally vulnerable when you are dying. We have examples, from our research, which is still in progress, of people who are well off but their partner does not want a nurse in the house and they want to die in their own home. As a result of not wanting a nurse in their own home when they have advanced cancer and they need a nurse, they choose assisted dying. It is not a question of class. The vulnerable are those who are ill and facing death. That is vulnerability.

Part of our campaign in the past in New Zealand was to leave doctors out of euthanasia. It does not have to be a doctor who provides the injection or medication. In that way, the healthcare system would be kept separate from euthanasia, assisted suicide or assisted dying. That would be protective of the healthcare system and the patient. The relationship between the doctor, nurse or nurse practitioner and the patient in this setting is very complex. It is subtle and the interactions are complex and the vulnerability is great, so it is best to leave a doctor or nurse practitioner with a relationship with the patient out of it. That way, we can have legislation that provides for assisted dying if society insists on it, but leaves it outside the healthcare system. That would be wise in my view.