The “Dying with Dignity Bill” introduced by deputy Gino Kenny, a member of People before Profit sought to introduce legalised euthanasia for the first time in Ireland.
If passed, the bill would have given a medical practitioner the legal right to provide assistance to a qualifying person to end their life.
However, the Justice Committee who scrutinised the bill received 1,400 submissions relating to legal, medical, personal, academic, faith-based and hospice perspectives on the provisions contained within the bill.
The bill was also sent to the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers (OPLA) to ascertain the legal and constitutional implications of such proposed legislation, reports the Irish Examiner.
Chairman of the Justice Committee James Lawless outlined the Committee’s concerns saying “It may have unintended policy consequences – particularly regarding the lack of sufficient safeguards to protect against undue pressure being put on vulnerable people to avail of assisted dying” reports the Irish Examiner.
The Justice committee determined the bill had “serious technical issues” in several sections and there were “serious flaws” which could potentially render them vulnerable to challenge before the courts.
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