Irish Examiner View: Time is pressing for reform on assisted dying

We need to find a system that allows dignity, choice, and safety from abuse

Assisted dying is prone to divide opinion as much as unite it.

Like other contentious issues, assisted dying is likely to be put into the deep freeze until we have a government with a new mandate.

As an election topic, it barely registers. It’s prone to divide opinion as much as unite it. 

That old stopgap for putting off a decision, a referendum, is out of fashion since the embarrassments of March.

True, the recommendation of a special Oireachtas committee 10 weeks ago was that assisted dying and euthanasia should be introduced for people with only six months to a year to live. 

That conclusion was overshadowed by dissenting reports from the chair, Michael Healy-Rae, and two other committee members. 

“There are no lives not worth living,” they said.

Michael Healy-Rae chairs the Oireachtas joint committee on assisted dying. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

Meanwhile, the rest of the world is moving forward and assisted dying and euthanasia are getting closer to our shores.

The Channel Island of Jersey expects legislation for terminally ill adults to be brought by the end of 2025. 

The Isle of Man is also expected to legalise assisted dying in the next 18 months.

In Britian, Keir Starmer, the likely next prime minister, is a supporter and in favour of a free vote. 

Scottish parliamentarians are keen to introduce their own enabling bill.

In Britain, the campaign has gained considerable momentum from the support of the doughty campaigner Esther Rantzen, 84 next month, who has signed up for the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

Campaigner Esther Rantzen has signed up for the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

The much-admired actress Diana Rigg left a tape recording, before she died from cancer in 2020, at the age of 82.

She spoke of her “truly awful” and “dehumanising” experience and said it was “high time” human beings were given “true agency over their own bodies at the end of life. This means giving human beings political autonomy over their own death”. 

Barely a week goes by without reports of individuals, who have grown tired of grappling with terminal or progressive and debilitating illnesses, deciding that enough is enough and taking action.

Ireland will not be able to isolate itself. 

We need to find a reform that allows dignity, choice, and safety from abuse. 

Otherwise, we will find people travelling abroad, as they were forced to in the past, to avail of services that are generally, and legally, available to neighbours in Europe.

And that time will be much sooner than we think.

Morgan Spurlock: Outsize impact on fast food

Although his career was problematic, the world owes a debt of gratitude to Morgan Spurlock, who was one of the first to warn of the perils of fast food, and to do so in a manner that was entertaining rather than finger-wagging.

Spurlock, who died on Thursday at the age of 53 from cancer, lampooned the corporate giant McDonald’s with his documentary Super Size Me, 20 years ago.

The film’s conceit was for Spurlock to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for 30 consecutive days, taking advantage of the ‘super-size’ option whenever it was offered to him.

Although the scientific basis for his research was diminished by subsequent acknowledgements that he had problems with alcohol, most people sympathised with the argument that the burger giant was encouraging obesity and addiction.

Spurlock became fat (he gained 12.7kg), unhealthy, and depressed. 

He charted a succession of experiences, including ‘McGurgles’ and ‘McStomachaches’ that turned into ‘McSweats’ and ‘McTwitching’ and mood swings that made him ‘McCrazy’.

Morgan Spurlock was one of the first to warn of the perils of fast food.

His campaign is credited with the move by companies to offer ‘healthy’ options.

McDonald’s described the Oscar-nominated film as “a super-size distortion”, but subsequently stopped offering the controversial portion, a reform now overtaken by time. 

Last month, the company announced a plan to deploy a “larger, satiating burger” to combat declining sales.

Despite a wider and fresher range of salads, comprehensive calorie counts, plant-based alternatives, and a fuller understanding of the perils of ultra-processed foods, there is still much room for progress.

Here in Ireland, we like to think we have a good grasp of healthy eating and cuisine to make us proud. 

But we also have one of Europe’s highest obesity levels. 

It is a minority of people who eat fruit and vegetables daily, while most of us consume snack foods or sugar-sweetened drinks every day.

Size does matter. But it’s not the only thing.

Rugby champions: The real deal

Toulouse became the Real Madrid of European rugby, claiming six grand titles and establishing clear blue water from their nearest rival, Leinster, in a thrilling game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.

Optimists will point to the fact that Leinster have appeared in the same number of finals, eight, as their opponents from Haute-Garonne. 

It’s just that the French have been better at winning.

It was the same again on a rare sunny May Saturday when Les Rouge et Noir were too strong despite finishing the game with 14 men.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

And next season is one to savour too. 

It will be the 150th since the formation of the Irish Rugby Football Union culminating with the European Final in Cardiff, 30 years since the first was held there, followed by the British and Irish Lions facing Argentina at the Aviva Stadium for the first time on Irish soil on June 20, 2025.

Just like a shark, this is a sport which has to keep moving forward.