Legalising assisted dying 'could devalue life' - Troy

Legalising assisted dying “could devalue life”.

That is according to Deputy Robert Troy, who voted in the Dáil last Wednesday against noting the report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying, which recommends that the government legalise assisted dying in certain circumstances.

A total of 76 TDs voted to note the report, while 53, including Deputy Troy and Minister Peter Burke voted against it.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Deputy Troy, who was one of three long-term committee members who voted against noting the report, said there were compelling arguments from both those supporting the legalisation of assisted dying and those not in favour of it.

“I went into that committee with a very open mind, and was of the opinion that I’m here to listen, I’m here to learn, and ultimately, at the end, I’m here to take a decision. The committee sat for a little bit more than nine months.

“In that time, we had informative sessions, which were broken into modules: constitutional, legal, ethical, moral, and we heard from people with international experience.”

Deputy Troy said that he was deeply moved by the contributions from people with terminal illnesses, who were advocating for the legalisation of assisted dying, as well as the contributions from disability groups and many medical practitioners who were not in favour of it.

“One line that struck with me from one of the disability groups was, why are you concentrating on helping us to end our life? Why don’t you concentrate on helping us improve our quality of life? So in the round, I was very informed, in terms of coming to my decision, that I don’t believe this is the way to go.

“...When you look at international experience, in other countries, where this was introduced, it started off being introduced in restricted, highly regulated environments, and then over time, the provision expanded.”

Deputy Troy said that if Oireachtas members vote to legalise assisted dying, his concern is that it would become “normalised”.

“We’re saying that they [people with terminal illnesses] have somewhat less to offer in life. My fear is that over a period of time, it then becomes normalised.

“You’re not going to make it any more than six months? What are you hanging around for? [If people] are worried that they will be a burden on their family or the state, this would have an impact on society and, to me, it devalues life. That’s essentially why I took the decision I did.”

Last Wednesday’s vote does not legalise assisted dying. New legislation would have to be passed by the Oireachtas and then signed by the president.