Abstract

In this presentation I will offer an overview of my PhD research and some reflections on engaging with the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying in Ireland, which I hope will spark some discussion on the role of philosophy in the public sphere. My thesis was titled ‘Ethics and Assisted Dying in the Republic of Ireland’ and argued that active assistance in dying can be morally permissible in limited contexts. Where an individual is suffering from an irremediable chronic or terminal illness and is imminently dying (that is, expected to die within a period not exceeding six months), I argued that active assistance can be justified if the desire for such assistance is rational and enduring. By implication, active assistance in dying should also be legally permissible in Ireland.

The thesis began by setting the scene for this argument. Public inquiries concerning assisted death hinge on the interaction between conceptual matters and their practical implementation. The prominent concepts addressed in such inquiries are autonomy, the value of life, the doctrine of doing and allowing, the distinction between killing and letting die, the doctrine of double effect, and slippery slope arguments. I will outline how I dealt with these philosophical contentions in turn.

Following this, I argue that assisted dying in the narrow context I propose, can be morally permissible and by implication legally permissible in Ireland, in accordance with the fine-tuned interpretation of concepts contained in this thesis. Finally, I offer recommendations for the implementation of safeguards surrounding assisted dying in Ireland, and I will discuss how these were received during my submission to the Committee on Assisted Dying.