Category: Ireland

Palliative care experts warn of ‘deeply flawed’ assisted dying Bill

‘There’s no proper oversight or scrutiny… this legislation could lead to a slippery slope’

The Irish Times

Sorcha Pollak, Jennifer O’Connell

Planned legislation before the Oireachtas which seeks to legalise assisted dying in Ireland is “deeply flawed” and leaves the population open to “significant risk”, consultants in palliative medicine have warned.

Last October, the Dáil voted to pass the Dying with Dignity Bill to committee stage by 81 to 71 votes after the three Government parties allowed a free vote on the legislation.

However, experts working in end-of-life care have expressed concern about the wording of the Bill, tabled by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny . . .[Full text]

‘I couldn’t believe it’ — Shock as Irish doctor says he will refuse to administer COVID-19 vaccine

Extra.ie

Aoibhin Bryant

Patients were left shocked when they learnt that their doctor is refusing to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr Gerard Waters of Whitethorn Clinic, Celbridge has called himself a ‘conscientious objector’ to the vaccine.

Speaking to Liveline, Maureen Lawler, whose friends are patients of Dr Waters, said they are all ‘shocked’.

They are now actively looking for a new GP. . . [Full text]

Irish GP refuses to administer Covid-19 vaccines as ‘conscientious objector’, does not refer patients for Covid tests

Irish Post

Rachael O’Connor

AN IRISH GP has defended himself after he said he would not administer any Covid-19 vaccine to his patients.

Kildare GP Dr. Gerard Waters of the Whitehorn Clinic in Celbridge appeared on RTÉ Radio One‘s Liveline this week following claims the doctor had stated his refusal to vaccinate patients.

Speaking on the show, Dr. Waters confirmed that he would not be administering the vaccines when the time came– and also said that he does not refer his patients for Covid-19 tests. . . [Full text]

Healthcare workers who refuse vaccination can be removed, says HSE chief

Health and Safety Act allows for the removal of staff from frontline positions

The Irish Times

Ronan McGreevy, Mark Hilliard

HSE chief executive Paul Reid has suggested that healthcare workers who refuse to take the vaccine may be removed from their posts.

Mr Reid said it was “inexcusable” for any healthcare worker who works with patients not to take the vaccine.

He said everyone had a right to refuse a vaccine if they wished, but the Health and Safety Act allowed for workers to be removed if they were regarded as a threat to other people. . . [Full text]

Why Covid dissidents need to be understood, not demonised

Unthinkable: Lack of access to democratic processes can fuel distrust, says Dr Katherine Furman

The Irish Times

Joe Humphreys

Coronavirus conspiracy theories may have started out as a joke, but they now threaten to derail the global fight against the pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy is identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the top 10 threats to public health, and resistance to the new Covid-19 jabs risks undermining the efficacy of Europe’s vaccination rollout plan.

UK scientific advisers last month voiced concern at data showing 72 per cent of black people saying they were unlikely to have the jab. Historical issues of unethical healthcare research and institutional racism were cited as key reasons for lower levels of trust, an expert report found. Other research shows conspiracy theories tend to flourish in communities that have traditionally felt the brunt of economic hardship and political neglect.

For this reason, argues Dr Katherine Furman, we need to understand Covid policy dissidents and vaccine refuseniks rather than demonise them. Furman, a philosopher and public policy researcher based at the University of Liverpool, is one of the speakers at a conference in Dublin next week on how a democracy should deal with conscientious objectors. In advance, she sets out her stall for the Irish Times Unthinkable philosophy column.

[Questions addressed in the column]

  • How does one distinguish between a conscientious objector and a mere law-breaker?
  • To what extent can a liberal democracy allow for conscientious objectors to public health measures?
  • What is an appropriate punishment for people who – in the form of political protest – break Covid rules on mask-wearing or breach lockdown restrictions?
  • The conscientious objectors we tend to respect from history are those devoid of self-pity – those, like the pacifist philosopher Bertrand Russell, who preferred to go to prison rather than cross a moral red line. Is punishment something conscientious objectors should stoically accept as the price for living in a state that decides its laws democratically?

[Full Text]