The introduction of euthanasia in Ireland could lead to the closure of care homes and have an ill effect on the healthcare system, according to the minority report from the members of the Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying. A government seeking savings in the healthcare system could favour assisted suicide over comprehensive end-of-life medical treatments,...
At a time when the government is considering a further liberalisation of our already permissive abortion legislation, RTE Investigates this week aired a documentary on “the realities of Ireland’s current abortion services” which was far from being fair and impartial. In fact, we didn’t get to hear from a single pro-life advocate, and it did...
By David Mullins The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was finally commenced into law last year. It effectively ended what is known as the ‘wardship system’ under which the courts were mandated to make decisions for persons with diminished capacity. The new system puts in other supports for people with diminished capacity but is it...
The Vatican has just released a new document on the topic of human dignity. Among other issues, it addresses the ethical problems of surrogacy—including the commodification of babies and the financial exploitation of low-income women who are contracted to be surrogates. Ireland is in the process of adopting one of the most permissive laws in...
Catholic schools in Ireland are undergoing the same tremendous changes as Irish society itself. They are becoming more secular and less Catholic as the same happens to Ireland. Only a minority of teachers are practising Catholic and pupils and their parents rarely go to Mass. They are struggling to maintain a truly Catholic ethos. In...
As predicted, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying has recommended the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia in Ireland. It claims they will be allowed under only strict conditions and with proper safeguards, but when you read the actual report, some of the conditions and safeguards seem neither strict nor proper. The main recommendation...
Northern Ireland remains the most religious part of Britain or Ireland, according to new research published last month. The percentage of people who attend church every week in Northern Ireland – Protestant or Catholic – is greater than the number who attend Irish League football match over an entire year. The report from Evangelical Alliance...
THE results of the two referendums are the best possible present ahead of Mother’s Day tomorrow. The Government asked voters to remove the word ‘mother’ from the Constitution and they answered with a resounding No. They also rejected by a huge margin the attempt to foist the extremely nebulous term “durable relationships” on the Constitution....
An Oireachtas committee has recommended euthanasia for those judged to be within six to 12 months of death. If we go down this path, we can fully expect there to be pressure to allow it on far more expansive grounds. We know this because pro-euthanasia advocates who appeared before the committee were quite clear on...
David Quinn was on the Hard Shoulder explaining why he is voting No in the two referendums on March 8. He said the family referendums seeks to insert the very ambiguous term “durable relationships” into the Constitution, while the one on carers seek to delete the current reference to the home, to mothers and the...
