A pro-euthanasia activist has helped an Irish man struggling with mental health problems to access assisted suicide in Switzerland without the knowledge of the man’s family, the Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying has been told. The activist belongs to Exit International, the ultra-radical ‘right to die’ organisation, the committee heard. On Tuesday, Emer Maguire told...

Patients with dementia should be offered euthanasia or assisted suicide, the Oireachtas Committee on ‘assisted dying’ has been told. The Committee heard from representatives from End of Life Ireland that “assisted dying” should be introduced not only for those nearing death but also for those with neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia, who could be years...

Bizarrely and damagingly, concern about falling fertility rates is dismissed as a conservative ‘thing’. The issue should, of course, be of concern to everyone. A rapidly ageing population is going to mean enormous health and pension costs for a diminishing younger population combined with growing labour shortages, even allowing for immigration. Liberals seem to suspect...

Doctors were before the Oireachtas Committee on ‘assisted dying’ last week, representing a group in favour, a group fully against, and a group mainly against. It’s important to note that while this gives the impression that doctors are more or less evenly divided on the matter, easily the biggest representative body in attendance, namely the...

Doctors and disability rights campaigners have presented the grim reality of the Canadian “Medical Assistance In Dying”(MAID) regime to the Oireachtas committee that is considering the introduction of such legislation in Ireland. In Canada, euthanasia was introduced for the terminally ill only, which is the main proposal currently on offer here, but the ground expanded...

The Oireachtas committee on ‘assisted dying’ has met three times in the last two weeks. As usual, the hearings offered useful insights into the thinking of both sides of the divide. What follows are some highlights from the meetings. Session One The first session held on Tuesday 3rd October was dedicated to ethics. Dr Thomas...

In February 1994, St John Paul II founded the Pontifical Academy for Life for the study and defence of human life in all its stages. Christian pro-life groups globally looked to the Academy for inspiration and guidance as it became a very influential organisation. However, the original purpose of the Pontifical Academy for Life has...

The Oireachtas Committee on ‘assisted dying’ continues to hear expert testimony on the matter. Last week it heard from a Dutch academic who was once a supporter but has now turned into a critic. He spoke of how insurance companies in his country are already funding the procedure for one provider, which is a chilling...

Some people find the evidence that on average the two-parent family is best for children highly unpalatable, and they will resist it strongly. Melissa S. Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland in the United States is discovering this at first hand with the publication of her new book, ‘The Two-Parent Privilege’....

Last week the European Parliament paved the way for the commercialisation of human embryos and foetuses when, by an overwhelming majority, it passed a regulation called “Substance of Human Origin”. A ‘substance of human origin’ can mean human blood cells or tissue, but in the eyes of the report, the term includes embryos and foetuses...