The Need to Employ Disability as a Compass in the Drafting of Safeguards Surrounding Legislation for Assisted Suicide

• Author: Niall Prior
• Position: Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Trinity College Dublin
• Pages: 109-120

(2022) 21 COLR 109

109

THE NEED TO EMPLOY DISABILITY AS A COMPASS IN THE DRAFTING OF

SAFEGUARDS SURROUNDING LEGISLATION FOR ASSISTED SUICIDE

Niall Prior*

A INTRODUCTION

In Fleming v Ireland and Others, the Supreme Court took the view that while there was ‘no

constitutional right to commit suicide or to arrange for the determination of one's life at a time

of one's choosing’, assisted suicide was nonetheless a complex issue of policy that the State

would be entitled to legislate for.

1

Seven years later, the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 (The

Bill) was introduced.

2

Section 12(2) of the Bill therein proposed to lift the prohibition on

aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the suicide of another contained in section 2(2) of

the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993 (1993 Act).

3

While the Bill has failed to progress through

Dáil Éireann, its initial introduction indicates two things. Firstly, that Ireland may be in the

process of falling in line with the ‘limited but growing number of jurisdictions across the world

where assisted dying is permitted’.

4

Secondly, that legislating for assisted suicide is a delicate

and complex process both as a matter of principle and practicality. To demonstrate, significant

backlash to the Bill arose from the medical profession, who argued that ‘[m]ost people in

Ireland [already] die with dignity’, and that a lack of adequate safeguards in the Bill put those

most vulnerable in society at risk of ‘being pressurised into seeking assisted suicide’.

5

The

views of such medical professionals, however, are but one consideration. Legislating for

assisted suicide demands cognisance of the fundamental constitutional rights of the individual,

of conflicting ethical conceptions, and ultimately, of questions surrounding practical oversight

and implementation.

6

* Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Trinity College Dublin. Reading for the degree of Master of Law (LLM) at the

University of Ca mbridge, Sidney Sussex College. My thanks are owed to the Editorial Board for their

collaborative nature, and to Jack Kenny, in particular, for his responsiveness.

1

Fleming v Ireland and Others [2013] IESC 19 [137], [108].

2

The Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 (The Bill).

3

The Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993.

4

Irish Hospice Foundation, ‘The International Experience of Assisted Dying’ (January 2021) 5

<https://hospicefoundation.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Paper-on-International-Experiences-of-Assisted-

Dying-January-2021.pdf> accessed 24 March 2022.

5

Sorcha Pollak and Jennifer O'Connell, ‘Palliative Care Experts Warn of “Deeply Flawed” Assisted Dying Bill’,

The Irish Times (Dublin, 15 February 2021) <https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/palliative-care-

experts-warn-of-deeply-flawed-assisted-dying-bill-1.4484688> accessed 24 March 2022.

6

Fundamental constitutional rights of the individual such as ‘[t]he right to life, respect for human dignity, personal

autonomy and the protection of certain at risk groups’; Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission,

‘Submission to the Committee on Justice on the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020’ (January 2021) 3.