Committee is right to recommend a conservative approach to assisted dying

The issue of assisted dying is controversial, not least when you consider its use by non-terminal patients suffering from extreme mental health problems

In Canada, the law on physician-assisted dying was extended to persons with ‘grievous and irremediable’ mental illness in 2021 Picture: PA 

The debate on legalising assisted dying is quite pertinent in Ireland, with the publication of the final report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, in which the committee recommended that assisted dying should be introduced through legislation and permitted in Ireland, in certain restricted circumstances.

Although suicide was decriminalised in Ireland under the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993, the act of ‘aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring’ the suicide of another person remains illegal and punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment.