The voices of people opposed to the introduction of assisted suicide must be fairly heard [1], the chair of an Oireachtas Committee discussing the topic has insisted.
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae, told The Irish Catholic newspaper that it is of “vital importance” that the Committee does its work “in an extremely fair fashion, and that everybody, whatever their viewpoint will get heard”.
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen, who’s also on the Committee, told The Irish Catholic that it’s his sense that Mr Healy-Rae is determined to be “scrupulously fair” as Committee chair, and that it is his hope that there will be a “greater freedom” to engage with and listen to those coming before the committee, “including those with expertise in working with people in end of life settings, those with expertise in palliative care settings and so on”.
Senator Mullen also welcomed the clarification from the Committee that it has full freedom to recommend against the introduction of assisted suicide [2] if it sees fit.