Category: Procedures & Services

Assisted suicide ban upheld in Ireland: appeal likely

Judges suggest compassionate exception might be made

A three judge panel of the Irish High Court has rejected a suit by a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis to strike down the absolute ban on assisted suicide.  The court held that it would be impossible to craft an exemption to cover her particular case that would not have implications for other cases and ultimately endanger other vulnerable people.  The Court also ruled that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) cannot issue guidelines to indicate what factors would be considered in deciding whether or not to prosecute someone for assisting a suicide, nor can the DPP be consulted in advance in particular cases.  However, the judges commented that the DPP might exercise discretion if there were reliable evidence of compliance with factors similar to those set out in prosecution guidelines issed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in England.  They added that they were sure that the Irish DPP would exercise discretion humanely and with sensitivity.  The decision is likely to be appealed. [Irish Times; Appeal Likely]

Court hears appeal of midwives ordered to participate in abortion services

A panel of three judges in Edinburgh is hearing arguments in an appeal by two midwives who were ordered to supervise provision of abortion in the National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde region.  A lower court ruled that the protection of conscience provision in the 1967 Abortion Act did not apply to them.  [BBC] The case turns upon the definition of “participation,” which is not set out in the Act.

 

 

 

Facebook abortion ads: no need for coerced referrals

Sean Murphy*

The  Life Issues Institute reports that ads are being run on Facebook in the United Kingdom that offer women assistance in finding nearby abortion facilities, including late-term abortion specialists.  The ads demonstrate that there is no need to force objecting health care workers to facilitate abortion by referral or by providing abortionist contact information, as access to abortion can be easily facilitated by popular social media and websites.

Irish Archbishops challenged on claims of conscience about abortion

Archbishops are absolutely wrong about conscience

The Irish Times
27 December, 2012

Desmond M. Clarke

OPINION: Catholic bishops who attribute an absolute value to conscience are trying to force others to accept their position on abortion.

The Catholic archbishops of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Emly, and Tuam released a public statement on December 18th that included this general principle: “No one has the right to force or coerce someone to act against their conscience. Respect for this right is the very foundation of a free, civilised and democratic society.”

I do not think they believe that. Nor do I.

Conscience could mean many things but it is usually understood as referring to the judgment of an individual about significant moral and religious matters. Unfortunately it is possible for someone to decide in “their conscience” that politically-motivated murder is acceptable in some circumstances, and the archbishops presumably do not mean the conscience of a murderer obliges a democratic state not to interfere in their behaviour, no matter how well-intentioned it may be. . . [Read on]

“Normalisation of cruelty” and the ‘ethics of the profession’

Sean Murphy*

A court in the United Kingdom has awarded £410,000 ($663,000) in damages to 38 plaintiff families for an extraordinary cataloque of neglect, abandonment and abuse at the National Health Service’s Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, England.  The incidents occurred between 2002 and 2009.  Britain’s Health Secretary said that the case illustrates “the normailisation of cruelty.”  One elderly patient was left unwashed for 11 weeks and another was starved to death. [RTE Question More; The Telegraph]