Assisted suicide could be open to abuse with the elderly and infirm particularly vulnerable, a Limerick TD claimed today.
Fine Gael's Dan Neville who is president of Irish Association of Suicidology said there is already evidence in other countries that the procedure is being used on people who are not suffering from painful and terminal illness.
His comments follow the news today that a a 33-year-old Cork man obtained assistance in committing suicide in Switzerland last month. It was the third known incident of assisted suicide involving a person living in Ireland.
Mr Neville there had been an instance in Holland in which a grief-stricken woman, whose son had died in a car crash was assisted in committing suicide by a doctor who was tried and later fined for breaking the Dutch rules on euthanasia. The woman was also depressed due to the break-up of her marriage.
The Limerick West TD said this was an example of how assisted suicide can undermine the value attached to human life to the degree that the issue moves beyond being a moral question and becomes a matter for social policy.
"If we go down the slippery slope of acceptance, in ten years say, the conditions and circumstances of acceptability will become more lax," he told ireland.com.
He said the old and infirm may begin to question their self-worth more if the procedure became more common. "People might feel useless and a burden to their family if assisted suicide gains acceptance," he said. He was especially concerned about the possibility of people seeking the procedure in the event that their death could have a financial implication.
The MS Society of Ireland expressed concern about the publicity surrounding the death and in particular about an interview the man gave to the Marian Finucane Showon RTE radio last October.
During the interview the 33-year-old said his suicide would not be "murder or mercy killing". "It is an act of self deliverance."
"Since I made my choice, I have regained my dignity and life has been a dream. It has released me from the terror of facing a horrible and painful death," he told the programme.
The interview was aired again this morning after the emergence of the news of his death today.
MS Ireland chief executive said he was concerned the sentiments could be particularly detrimental for those newly-diagnosed with the condition. Dr Graham Love said assisted suicide was illegal and the society was opposed to it.
"MS Ireland's mission is to enable and empower Irish people with MS to live the life of their choice to their fullest potential ... we work to prevent people with MS reaching the point where they wish for assisted suicide," he said.
MS is an incurable disease of the central nervous system which can lead to muscular weakness, loss of co-ordination and serious deterioration in speech and sight. It mainly affects young adults and the cause is unknown
Dr Love said the vast majority of people with MS "live fulfilled lives, and cope with their condition through support and treatment".
The Corkman's death is third know instance of assisted suicide involving an Irish person.
Late last year, Dignitas assisted with the suicide of a 37-year-old man left severely physically disabled after a train accident. And a woman in south Dublin committed suicide after receiving counselling from the controversial American Rev George Exoo.
The law governing assisted suicide are unclear in some countries and can effectivelly legally obtained under particular circumstances in three European countries: Switzerland, Belgium and Holland.
Like Holland, the State of Oregon in the US has legislated for physician-assisted suicide.