Ian O'Doherty’s view on euthanasia has changed radically over the years and he is now “nowhere near as convinced” about the practice as he once was. 

Yesterday, Dáil Éireann voted to note the report of an Oireachtas Committee that recommended assisted dying be legalised. 

The vote does not legalise euthanasia but it does suggest a majority of TDs are at least open-minded towards changing the law. 

On Lunchtime Live, Mr O'Doherty said he used to be “very pro-euthanasia” and had been especially moved by the case of an English woman, Diane Pretty, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. 

Ms Pretty sued the British Government, arguing she should have the right to end her life but her litigation was unsuccessful. 

“What really struck me about her case was that she always said she had a terrible fear of water and drowning,” Mr O'Doherty said. 

“With her particular individual case of motor neurone, it meant that she was actually going to die because she was going to lose the ability to swallow. 

“So, effectively, she would drown and that just really knocked me for six.” 

Practical application

Despite this, in the past few months, he has begun to reconsider his opinion due to the a number of cases in countries where euthanasia has been legalised. 

“There was a case in Belgium involving twins - the Verbessem twins,” he said. 

“They weren’t terminally ill but they were deaf and they were going blind - they were suffering from macular degeneration. 

“They decided that they wanted to get euthanised together.” 

Although the twins’ family were against it, the pair went ahead and died together. 

“I just thought that was wrong,” Mr O'Doherty said. 

“They weren’t dying.” 

MAID

In 2016, Canada legalised euthanasia and five-years later it broadened the eligibility to include people with incurable conditions. 

The Medical Assistance in Dying or ‘MAID’ programme is something that has given Mr O'Doherty pause for thought. 

In particular, he heard of a man with a severe disability who requested euthanasia because he was about to become homeless. 

“What’s happened under the MAID programme in Canada is everything the anti-euthanasia brigade used to warn me about in debates,” he said. 

“I would dismiss their warnings as being ‘scaremongering’ when they talk about the slippery slope.” 

In 2020, a poll by the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI found 52% of people in Ireland supported the legalisation of euthanasia.

You can listen back here:

Main image: A woman holding an elderly woman's hand. Picture by: Alamy.com