John Halligan: Time to revisit assisted suicide bill

In 2015, the Dying with Dignity Bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill but, with the collapse of that government, it never progressed. Former minister of state John Halligan argues it could still provide comfort for those suffering with terminal illnesses. 

Former minister of state John Halligan, who said the time is right to revisit the Dying with Dignity Bill. File Picture: Gareth Chaney Collins

When I was 40, a friend of mine died. He was a fellow member of the Worker’s Party. He developed cancer which subsequently metastasised throughout his body. 

I think of him in his hospital bed for what would be the final time. His face was ashen, his stomach was distended from the disease which now consumed him. I think of a proud and dignified man, a campaigner, a husband, a father, laid to waste and left in unbearable pain by a brutal and terminal illness. My friend died some weeks later.