MS Society speaks out on assisted suicide

THE Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Ireland has said it is seriously concerned about how newly diagnosed MS sufferers will react after a fellow sufferer chose to die by assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Martin Barry, 33, from Model Farm Road in Cork city, was a multiple sclerosis sufferer in the advanced stages of the illness. Gardaí confirmed they were informed of his death two weeks ago by Interpol who asked them to contact his family.

The UCC postgraduate student had travelled with a friend to Zurich at the end of last month where he ended his life with the help of the ‘right to die’ organisation, Dignitas, which he joined over a year ago.

His family was unavailable for comment yesterday and neighbours were reluctant to talk. One woman said they wanted to respect his privacy, but “his death was his own decision”.

Over six months ago, Mr Barry wrote in this newspaper that he did not think he would be dying shortly.

“It is important to stress I have no immediate plans to travel to Switzerland. I am living life to the full, living in the present. It is my hope that stem-cell therapies using adult, as opposed to embryonic technologies, will deliver a cure for this debilitating condition and other neurological conditions in the near future,” he said. According to Mr Barry, he intended ending his life in Switzerland by swallowing a barbiturate (PBS) in a liquid form, which causes the user to fall asleep and stop breathing within 20 minutes.

Mr Barry suffered a severe form of the neurological illness which progresses over 10 stages. He went from stage one to stage seven in less than five years.

Using a pseudonym, he had spoken about his illness on the Marion Finucane Show, contacting the programme to defend his decision to avail of assisted suicide which is legal in Switzerland.

The interview was repeated on RTÉ radio yesterday. MSIreland criticised RTÉ for repeating the programme, saying it could be very distressing for those with MS as it highlighted such an extreme case.

“MSIreland offers services and support to maintain the best quality of life possible for people with MS. In this respect, we work to prevent people with MS reaching the point where they wish for assisted suicide. The position of MSIreland on assisted suicide is clear: it is illegal, we do not support it, and we do not provide services to facilitate it in any way,” said chief executive Dr Graham Love.

“It is not possible to predict how MS will affect an individual. However, the vast majority of people with Multiple Sclerosis live fulfilled lives, and cope with their condition through support and treatment.”