Sir, – The Dying with Dignity Bill currently making its way through the Oireachtas is a serious business, but I couldn't help being amused by the letter of Dr Brendan O'Shea (Letters, July 6th).
A member of the campaigning group with the tongue twisting name – Irish Doctors supporting Medical Assistance in Dying (IDsMAiD) – he is certainly right to say that the medical profession was conflicted over the Eighth Amendment, but while seeming even-handed on medical reaction to the current issue, he warns against giving “disproportionate influence” to conscientious objectors.
He warns against the “impact on the collective imagination” wrought by “worst case” and “atypical scenarios”.
I reckon he has forgotten how such cases were an essential part of the pro-choice strategy in that earlier referendum.
He references people “choosing” assisted dying in other jurisdictions. At least he’s not pursuing the fiction that they were “forced” to travel.
– Yours, etc,
BRENDAN O’REGAN,
Dublin Road,
Arklow.