Catholic bishops urge Oireachtas members to reject legalisation of assisted suicide

TDs and senators have conducted a series of committee hearings into assisted suicide in recent times, hearing from a range of perspectives.

Catholic bishops have collectively urged Oireachtas members to reject the legalisation of assisted suicide, claiming it is an "abdication of the responsibility of society" to support terminally ill people.

TDs and senators have conducted a series of committee hearings into assisted suicide in recent times, hearing from a range of perspectives.

Following the autumn general meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference which met this week in Maynooth, the religious leaders called for legislators to "respect the integrity of healthcare as a service to life from conception until natural death".

The bishops said they are conscious that all across Ireland, many families are engaged day by day in accompanying loved ones who are terminally ill.

However, such an "enormously difficult and challenging time" for families "can also be a very privileged time", they claimed.

"Faced with the reality of their own mortality, many people, young and old, discover within themselves hidden reserves of faith, hope, and love, which can often be an inspiration to those who accompany them. In that privileged time, there is an opportunity to express gratitude and to heal wounded relationships," the bishops said in their collective statement.

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The legalisation of assisted suicide is "in reality, an abdication of the responsibility of society to support people who are terminally ill and their families, in living the final days and weeks of life as fully and richly as possible", they claimed.

"From our knowledge of what has happened in other jurisdictions, it is also clear to us that the availability of assisted suicide is very quickly extended to include people with all kinds of life-limiting conditions, including intellectual disability, whose continued existence is perceived to be a burden on society," they also claimed.