archived-news

An article in the Irish Times recently claimed that a survey showed almost 60% of medical students in University College Cork favoured euthanasia.

Louise Roseingrave reported that the study of students at University College Cork formed part of a research project by Canadian medical student Matthew Carere. He revealed some of his findings at a Law Society conference in UCC yesterday, on Assisted Dying and Euthanasia in Ireland.

Public opinion towards euthanasia was changing, he said, because patients were better informed to make decisions for themselves. "Over the past three decades public opinion toward euthanasia is gradually improving," he added. "We are moving away from a paternalistic type medicine, respecting more patient autonomy and patients are more well informed."

However, the Life Institute pointed out that previous studies had consistently shown that doctors remained strongly opposed to euthanasia. In March of this year a team at the Department of Palliative Medicine in Limerick undertook a review of research carried out over 20 years and found that a substantial majority of doctors opposed both voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide.

Life Institute spokeswoman, Niamh Uí Bhriain, said that more specialised and expert medical practitioners had a better understanding of the issues involved and of the benefit of palliative care. "It's likely too that medical practitioners look at what's emerging from jurisdictions which have legalised euthanasia and find the trends worrying," she said. A recent study from Belgium showed  that 32% of all euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region of Belgium occurred without explicit request or consent. Another study showed that 47% of all euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region of Belgium were not reported.

"It's simply not true to claim that euthanasia offers more respect to the patient's autonomy when the evidence shows that an increasing number of all deaths from euthanasia are involuntary and done without the patient's request or consent," said Ms Uí Bhriain. "Euthanasia is being sold as a measure which offers dignity but the truth is that it is really about a shift in attitude which sees vulnerable people as 'wasting resources'."

The Life Institute has commissioned a major report on Euthanasia which will be published in the New Year.