A chara, – Was I surprised to read EU ombudsman Emily O'Reilly's suggestion that some insurance companies may now be paying out for "euthanasia procedures" ("Issue of assisted suicide 'coming down the tracks' for Ireland", October 16th)? Not in the least. I can only imagine the cost differential between ending a life and continuing to pay out for medical care is quite considerable.
In fact, I would suggest that this is the very reason that all attempts toward “normalising medically assisted dying” should be resisted.
There would always be too great a conflict of interest between persuading oneself that ending a person’s life is the compassionate thing to do and the savings that would accrue if the sick person could be persuaded to be considerate enough to end it all or allow someone else to end it all for them. – Yours, etc,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny.