Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A woman was charged in court yesterday with the crime of assisting the suicide of a multiple sclerosis sufferer. The charge comes under section 2 of the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993 and it carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison. It is the first court case of its kind in Ireland and it is being watched very closely by a constituent of mine, Marie Fleming. Marie has lived with multiple sclerosis for 35 years. The Tánaiste is aware that earlier this year Marie and her partner Tom Curran went to the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the 1993 Act. The court did not find it to be unconstitutional, but it was stated that nothing in the judgment should be taken as necessarily implying that it would not be open to the State, in the event that the Oireachtas was satisfied that measures with appropriate safeguards could be introduced, to legislate to deal with a case such as the appellant.

What of the appellant? I spoke with Tom this morning and he said that Marie’s condition has worsened since the Supreme Court case. He told me that Marie is now completely immobile, other than her mouth. He said she is in constant pain and that the last time they tried to adjust her pain medication to deal with the increase in pain she lapsed into a coma so they cannot do that anymore. Marie’s ability to swallow is getting worse, making it increasingly difficult for her to eat. Tom said that Marie wants to live and that she has a lot of reasons to live, but her ability to eat may deteriorate and Marie has said she is adamant she will not use artificial feeding. In that case, under the current legislation Marie Fleming would starve to death. I asked Tom this morning what question Marie would put to the Tánaiste and to all of us in the Oireachtas. He told me that she would ask us the following: “Come and live my life for 24 hours and see if you think helping me to die should be a crime. Come and spend 24 hours in my house and see what you think.” He said Marie would ask for all of us to protect her family, that she would ask us in the Oireachtas to change the law so that she could die on her own terms without the threat of Tom Curran spending 14 years in prison.

When I raised the matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, earlier this year he told me that the Government would not consider changing the law as he is obliged to have regard to the wider public interest. My question is a very simple one. Does the Tánaiste believe that Tom Curran, Marie’s partner, should face the threat, as is the case under current legislation, of 14 years in prison for assisting Marie to die if she so chooses in the future?

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