Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Assisted Dying in New Zealand and Australia: Discussion

Dr. Greg Mewett:

Initially, I would have been called an outlier, but that is becoming less and less so. I am particularly interested in the fact that a lot of the younger palliative care specialists coming through training are really looking at this in a more open and broad-minded way. They are saying that we have a philosophy of palliative care, which I have just outlined to members and they are very au fait with, but also that voluntary assisted dying has been introduced as yet another of a number of end-of-life choices that people may or may not make. A minority of patients in palliative care will choose assisted dying as an end-of-life option. Others will choose other options at the end of life. It is not inconsistent with palliative care to allow people certain options at the end of life.