Marie Fleming - Parliament must decide

Marie Fleming went to the High Court yesterday because she is terminally ill and wants to avoid a “horrible death” and die with dignity.

She is so incapacitated that she cannot achieve that end without help. Under our laws anyone who might offer such help, even if it is knowingly requested, could face criminal charges.

As the awful death of Savita Halappanavar has shown, people in Ireland, at either end of the journey we all undertake, are in a void because lawmakers have shirked decisions made unavoidable by modern medicine and mores. Our politicians have failed too often when brave leadership was required so let us hope that this issue, so bravely highlighted by Marie Fleming, does not become another. Our parliament, not our courts, must decide these profound and disquieting issues.