Court told assisted suicide law need not pose risk

The Supreme Court has been told it would be possible to design legislation to allow the terminally ill to end their lives with assistance without a risk to others.

The submission was made by lawyers for Marie Fleming, a 59-year-old Wicklow woman with multiple sclerosis, who needs help to end her life.

Ms Fleming is appealing a decision of the High Court which ruled against her landmark challenge to the ban on assisted suicide.

Last month the High Court ruled any relaxation of the absolute ban could put other vulnerable people at risk.

Senior Counsel for Ms Fleming Brian Murray told the court it may be legitimate Government policy to discourage people from choosing death over life.

However, it was not a proper basis for telling people what decision they can make about their lives.

Without proof of actual risk to others there was insufficient justification for impairing the constitutional rights of Ms Fleming, he said.

There was a class of persons who should be allowed to execute their decision and the fact that others might break the law was not constitutionally good enough, he said.

Ms Fleming was being severely adversely affected in order to create some benchmark to prevent others breaking the law.

It would be possible to design legislation to cater for someone in her position without the risk of involuntary death of others, he added.

Ms Fleming is seeking a declaration that section 2.2 of the Criminal Law Suicide Act is invalid under the Constitution and is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights as it breaches her rights, including the right of autonomy and to self determination.

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