Committee on Assisted Dying: State should not have ‘invisible hand’ in a disabled person’s decision to end life, group hears

It is important the State does not unduly have an “invisible hand or influence” in the decision of a disabled person to end their life because they have not been adequately supported, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.

John Dolan, chief executive of the Disability Federation of Ireland, asked politicians at the Committee on Assisted Dying on Tuesday to consider how disabled people might think and feel about proposals on assisted dying in light of their daily experiences.

“This is about relating the trajectory and experience of someone’s living within the context of any proposals that you make,” Mr Dolan said.

“It is also important that the State does not unduly have an invisible hand, or influence, in the decision of someone to end their life because it has not supported disabled people to have a life of independence equal to everyone else.”

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Mr Dolan said many disabled people in Ireland were caught up in a daily cycle of “worry” about how to survive on an income the State had recognised for decades as being “wholly inadequate” because it did not factor in the varied and necessary additional costs of living with dignity.

“At the same time, they are consumed by worry about their lack of, or marginal, home support hours, before they can ever dream of having the supports that would make them independent members of the community.”

Peter Kearns, of Independent Living Movement Ireland, said disabled people did not want to be used as “pawns” for either side of the debate around assisted dying.

Mr Kearns said many disabled people were “hugely concerned” that discussions about assisted dying would inevitably lead to talks about assisted suicide.

He said those with a disability felt the primary discussion needed right now should be about the fundamental right to “live a life of dignity”.

Mr Kearns said many disabled people were opposed to legislation which would allow for assisted dying, as it could become a “slippery slope”, moving from the “subjective undefined phrase of ‘dying with dignity’ to assisted suicide”.

[ Ireland’s main churches and Muslim Council oppose legislation on assisted dying ]

“This is where the subjective narrative of undefinable dying with dignity morphs into societal discourse where the conversation changes from people who are terminally ill to people choosing to end their lives due to perceived labelling, which in other jurisdictions has often focused on people with impairment labels, who without the supports to live a free full life feel that their lives are not worth living,” he said.

Mr Kearns added that many disabled people were concerned about who would decide whether a person had a “life-limiting condition” or were on the spectrum of dying of a terminal illness.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny said assisted dying was “a very complex issue”, but that politicians could overcome such complexities when legislating for it.

[ Man who died from motor neurone disease addresses committee on assisted dying ]

Mr Kenny said it was dangerous for people to conflate assisted dying legislation with other issues, in particular around suicide, and described it as “unhelpful”.

The Dublin Mid-West TD added that assisted dying was not compulsory in any jurisdiction and was a voluntary decision for those in very certain circumstances.

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