Republic of Ireland Dying with Dignity Bill 2020: Former GP says legalising assisted dying in south will cause tensions with Northern Ireland

At present the committee is taking evidence on the proposed legislation from a wide range of national and international stakeholders and experts.

Humanists and Presbyterians have suggested that legalising assisted dying in the Republic of Ireland could mean Northern Ireland citizens could travel south to avail of it.

However Retired GP and former Belfast City Councillor Dr John Kyle said he could see such a situation causing tensions between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

"This is a very difficult issue shrouded in moral, legal and medical complexities and uncertainties," he told the News Letter. "Medically assisted dying is very controversial because it has serious implications for the elderly disabled or vulnerable who can be made to feel that they are a burden on others and should therefore consent to the process.

"Furthermore, experience in parts of the world where medically assisted dying is practiced has shown, over time, shocking relaxations of the qualifying criteria with people seeking medical assistance to die for psychological or social reasons.

"Legislative change in the Republic of Ireland will inevitably have consequences for Northern Ireland but these will take time to become clear. I would anticipate that it will cause tensions between the two jurisdictions.’

"I worked in palliative care, and like the vast majority of palliative care practitioners I believe that the focus should be on providing good/better palliative care for all. I have serious reservations about legalising physician assisted dying."

The Stormont Department of Justice (DOJ) said that "committing or attempting to commit suicide is not, of itself, a criminal offence in this jurisdiction".

However it added that it is an offence "to encourage or assist the suicide or attempted suicide of another person".

A spokesman for the Irish DOJ said that as the Irish Parliament "has not, as of yet, enacted legislation dealing with this area it is not possible to provide a reply".

In 2020 the Daily Mirror reported that around 300 British people had died at the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland since 2009, prompting 152 cases being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

It reported that three of these cases were prosecuted and that up to 133 of these families faced harrowing police probes, and possible jail, for aiding a loved one in travelling to Dignitas.

The CPS says it is currently prosecuting four ongoing cases of assisted dying and that four such cases have been successfully prosecuted.

It says that from 2009 to 2023, police referred 182 cases to it; it did not prosecute 125 of these cases and 35 cases were withdrawn by the police.

One case of assisted suicide was charged and acquitted in 2015 and eight cases were referred onwards for prosecution for homicide or other serious crime.

Last year retired NHS worker Sue Lawford spent 19 hours in custody and was investigated by police for six months for taking Sharon Johnston from Wales to Dignitas.

Dyfed-Powys Police said assisting a suicide was a criminal offence but later said she would face no further action.

Dr Paul Coulter, from Northern Ireland told the News Letter that "any move towards legalisation of assisted dying is profoundly troubling".

He is Executive Director of the Centre for Christianity in Society, and is a medic, pastor and theologian who has some experience of working with the elderly and in a hospice setting.

"It signals a fundamental shift away from being a life affirming society, meaning that every human life is regarded as precious and healthcare aims to preserve quality of life while increasing longevity, to a life-denying society, in which some lives are deemed not worth living and healthcare professionals are expected to actively end lives," he said.

"This has implications for all of us. Who says which lives are worth living and what can be said to the person on the edge of despair who is convinced his or her life is worthless?

" It was Christianity that gave Ireland the convictions that every human person is of equal value and that we all have a duty to care for the most vulnerable amongst us.

"Assisted dying is presented as a compassionate response to suffering and a way of honouring the individual's autonomy.

"In reality it is a cheaper alternative to investing in universal care for the mental and physical health needs of suffering people and a gateway to affirming the thoughts of some vulnerable people that they have no intrinsic value".