Petition
Oireachtas Members: Reject The Legalisation Of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Oireachtas Members: Reject The Legalisation Of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
As if abortion and the killing of the unborn weren't enough, an Oireachtas Committee is now (again) considering the issue of legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia in Ireland. [**See definitions at the bottom of the page.]
Although this issue is at a very early stage of the legislative process, we must act now to prevent Irish doctors, nurses and hospice workers from ever being asked or coerced by the state into killing those who are physically or psychologically unwell, or asked or coerced into helping someone kill themselves.
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition telling the Members of the Oireachtas to reject this lethal issue in committee, or should it ever come up for a vote in the future.
Instead of legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia, this petition asks the Government to fund more palliative care facilities and mental health facilities in the nation's hospitals and hospices.
After being stopped in 2021 as the euphemistically named "Dying with Dignity" Bill, the issue is now back in an Oireachtas special committee which just held its first public meeting on 13 June and which is charged with reporting back to the Dáil and Seanad only nine months from now.
That's why we must act now!
And, there are many good reasons for Ireland to reject assisted suicide and euthanasia:
1) Killing the weak, unwell and vulnerable can never be considered as compassionate or caring, or as ethically or morally good.
2) The Irish Constitution actually still requires the state to protect human life (NB: Abortion was tragically carved-out as an exception). As the Chairman of the "Committee on Assisted Dying", TD Michael Healy-Rae, said: "Article 40.3.1 and 40.3.2 of our [Irish] Constitution place an express and solemn duty on the State and its organs – legislative, executive, judicial - to protect the sanctity of all human life."
3) Regarding assisted suicide, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has stated that “the potential harms of assisted suicide outweigh the arguments in favour of legislation for assisted suicide”.
4) The Irish Association for Palliative Care (IAPC) has also firmly voiced their opposition to the introduction of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Ireland, saying that, "the use of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is not compatible with the goals of providing palliative care."
5) Nowadays, palliative care in a hospital or hospice setting is so effective that even the most serious pain can be controlled or mediated.
6) If Ireland's new Abortion Review recommendations - which want to take away an Irish medical professional's right to conscientiously object to abortion - actually become policy, the chances are that the same will happen with euthanasia and assisted suicide.
That means that pro-life Irish doctors and nurses could be forced to participate in euthanasia and assisted suicide if they want to keep their jobs.
7) Legal safeguards in such laws are typically designed to protect the doctor, not the patient.
Even the assisted suicide lobby recognises that assisted suicide laws can be abused, in turn they promote the “safeguards” in such laws. However, these safeguards do not protect patients who are depressed or experiencing psychological issues; they protect the doctor who is willing to cause death.
8) Assisted suicide laws are, indeed, abused where it has been made legal. As The Irish Times columnist Breda O'Brien put it: "Euthanasia is not a slippery slope. It's a precipice."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today, and help save a life.
One look at other jurisdictions, like The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada, where assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal, shows that once an assisted suicide law is passed by parliament, the abuses (and deaths) begin.
- Are you being evicted from your apartment in Canada and have back pain? A doctor can help kill you.
- Are you suffering psychologically in The Netherlands or Belgium? You can be killed, or helped to kill yourself.
- Are you a senior citizen who has been persuaded that you have become a "burden" on your family or on society? You can be euthanised.
- Were you born deaf and are now in danger of losing your eyesight? A doctor will give you a lethal injection.
- Are you a child in Belgium? Since 2014, there is no lower age limit for assisted suicide in Belgium...
Tragically, all of these scenarios, and more, are permitted under the law in countries where assisted suicide and euthanasia have become legal.
So, before it's too late in Ireland, let's get to the core of the matter: All human life has an inherent value and so must be treated with dignity and respect; therefore, these laws qualify as outrageous attacks on the sanctity of human life.
It’s time to cut through the clouds of emotion surrounding this topic and stand up for the preservation of life.
Please SIGN this urgent petition urging the Members of the Oireachtas to reject the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia at Committee level, or should it ever come to a vote. Thank you.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Joint Committee on Assisted Dying to hold first public meeting - https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/press-centre/press-releases/20230612-joint-committee-on-assisted-dying-to-hold-first-public-meeting/
Senator Mullen seeks assurances on ‘Assisted Dying’ Committee scope - https://www.ronanmullen.ie/senator-mullen-seeks-assurances-on-committee-scope/
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s position paper on assisted suicide -
The Irish Association for Palliative Care (IAPC) has position paper on assisted suicide/euthanasia - https://linktr.ee/iapc?lt_utm_source=lt_share_link#308871220
Canada slides right down the assisted suicide slippery slope - https://ionainstitute.ie/canada-slides-right-down-the-assisted-suicide-slippery-slope/
Netherlands Forcible Euthanasia Case and the Slippery Slope - https://lozierinstitute.org/netherlands-forcible-euthanasia-case-and-the-slippery-slope/
Assisted Suicide’s Slippery Slope in Action: Washington State (USA) May Drop “Safeguards” Against Abuse - https://lozierinstitute.org/assisted-suicides-slippery-slope-in-action-washington-state-may-drop-safeguards-against-abuse/
**Assisted suicide permits a doctor to intentionally cause the death of another person. It is done by doctors who administer a lethal drug cocktail to knowingly cause the death of another person. Euthanasia, on the other hand, allows an individual to gain a lethal prescription from a doctor and kill themselves.
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Reject assisted suicide and euthanasia in Ireland - help the suffering, don't kill them
Just three weeks ago, the special Oireactas Committee on Assisted Dying held their first public hearing.
But, this is not the first time the Oireachtas have faced this issue. Indeed, the euphemistically named "Dying with Dignity" Bill was stopped in 2021 as a result of fierce opposition to it from the general public and from the medical community, including the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Irish Association for Palliative Care.
The Irish public know from the experience of other jurisdictions that the assisted suicide slippery slope is real.
And, the Irish medical community know that legalising assisted suicide/euthanasia turns medical professionals into killers instead of helpers.
No amount of euthanasia 'safeguards' will protect against abuse. Instead, once any so-called 'right-to-die' is established we can only expect incremental extension with activists mounting pressure on politicians to expand those who ‘qualify’ for killing procedures.
All human life has an inherent value and so must be treated with dignity and respect.
Additionally, nowadays, palliative care in a hospital or hospice setting is so effective that even the most serious pain can be controlled or mediated. And, of course, killing someone can never be the right "treatment" for someone suffering with suicidal ideation.
For the reasons above, I oppose this lethal issue and call on you to do all that is in your power to ensure the Oireachtas rejects assisted suicide/euthanasia in committee, or should it ever come up for a vote in the future.
At the same time, I also call on you to increase the provision of, and funding for, more palliative care facilities and mental health facilities in Ireland's hospitals and hospices.
Thank you for acting to safeguard the lives of the vulnerable, aged, and weak for now and for the future.
Reject assisted suicide and euthanasia in Ireland - help the suffering, don't kill them
Just three weeks ago, the special Oireactas Committee on Assisted Dying held their first public hearing.
But, this is not the first time the Oireachtas have faced this issue. Indeed, the euphemistically named "Dying with Dignity" Bill was stopped in 2021 as a result of fierce opposition to it from the general public and from the medical community, including the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Irish Association for Palliative Care.
The Irish public know from the experience of other jurisdictions that the assisted suicide slippery slope is real.
And, the Irish medical community know that legalising assisted suicide/euthanasia turns medical professionals into killers instead of helpers.
No amount of euthanasia 'safeguards' will protect against abuse. Instead, once any so-called 'right-to-die' is established we can only expect incremental extension with activists mounting pressure on politicians to expand those who ‘qualify’ for killing procedures.
All human life has an inherent value and so must be treated with dignity and respect.
Additionally, nowadays, palliative care in a hospital or hospice setting is so effective that even the most serious pain can be controlled or mediated. And, of course, killing someone can never be the right "treatment" for someone suffering with suicidal ideation.
For the reasons above, I oppose this lethal issue and call on you to do all that is in your power to ensure the Oireachtas rejects assisted suicide/euthanasia in committee, or should it ever come up for a vote in the future.
At the same time, I also call on you to increase the provision of, and funding for, more palliative care facilities and mental health facilities in Ireland's hospitals and hospices.
Thank you for acting to safeguard the lives of the vulnerable, aged, and weak for now and for the future.
