Assisted suicide - Issues can be dodged for only so long

The Supreme Court has provisionally fixed February 19 to hear the appeal by Marie Fleming, a terminally ill woman, against the High Court’s rejection of her challenge to our constitutional ban on assisted suicide.

The early date for the appeal is welcome but tempered by the fact that, once again, our courts are ruling on issues properly — and ultimately — the responsibility of the legislature.

It is natural that rulings, limits and very precise interpretations be applied by the courts to laws enacted by the Oireachtas. Nevertheless, it would be far more honest of us — and our legislators — if our parliament made laws for the world we live and die in rather than play pass-the-parcel with the courts over profound and divisive issues like assisted suicide or abortion.