Ireland PM Resigns Amid Assisted Death Pitch

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

DUBLIN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has unexpectedly resigned on the day that Irish legislators took a first step toward legalizing assisted dying in what is one of Europe’s most Catholic nations.

Varadkar said he was stepping down for “personal and political” reasons and was “not the best person for the job anymore” without elaborating.

He was Ireland’s youngest prime minister when becoming leader of his liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic Fine Gael (“Family of the Irish”) party at age 38 in 2017.

His announcement came as Irish parliamentarians recommended Wednesday that the government allow assisted dying for people with “incurable diseases and just six months to live” or those with 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative condition.

It was the latest liberal development in social reforms in the country of 5.4 million people— where 69 percent of the population considers themselves Catholic.

The talks about euthanasia follow referendums to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion in 2015 and 2018, respectively, despite concerns from church leaders.

However, commentators said the path to legalizing assisted dying was not clear due in part to the resignation of Varadkar, seen as a centrist and liberal within his party.

DIVISIONS REPORTED

There have also been divisions within a cross-party committee set up to tackle the topic of assisted dying.

Gino Kelly, the left-wing parliamentarian who first proposed a “Dying with Dignity” bill, has said that “people in certain circumstances have a legal right to say how they die.”

However, the influential Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ICBC) said in a statement seen by Worthy News that it is “opposed to the deliberate ending of human life.”

It said it regards “the service of those who are sick and dying as an integral part of its mission.” A key focus “of the ministry of priests and lay chaplains, both in hospitals and in parish communities, is the accompaniment of people who are dying.”

The ICBC noted that this “pastoral care of the sick also brings us into close contact with family members and friends who, despite their own sadness, often play such an essential role in contributing to the well-being of those who are dying.”

Their participation, the ICBC said, “contributes to a healthy grieving process following the death of their loved one.” Death, it said, “is a natural part of the human condition. We do not propose the use of extraordinary or aggressive treatments to prolong life in a way which conflicts with reason or with the dignity of the person.”

The Irish debate echoes throughout the European Union, of which Ireland is a member state. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a bill to allow certain patients with an incurable disease to receive a lethal injection.

RIGHTS DEBATE

Separately, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun hearing the case of Hungarian constitutional lawyer Dániel Karsai, who suffers from a terminal illness.

The 47-year-old Karsai, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neuron disease, is arguing for the right to a self-determined death. Both euthanasia and assisted dying are illegal in Hungary, and those who help him, including doctors, could face criminal charges.

Assisted dying, better known as “active voluntary euthanasia,” is already (or in the process) being legalized in EU nations Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Other countries include Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, New Zealand, and the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

Back in Ireland, the ICBC suggested that, in general, the focus should be on “how people might be helped to experience a good death. We are opposed to the deliberate ending of human life, both for reasons of faith and for reasons connected with the defense of the common good.”

It was now up to the Irish prime minister’s successor, Micheál Martin, to deal with this issue.

Yet speaking in the Dáil, the lower house of the Irish parliament, the president of the Sinn Féin party, Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the Opposition, called for early elections.

But Martin made clear he wants to fulfill the coalition government’s term till the next general vote. The Irish parliamentary elections were scheduled for March 2025, but sources said they may be in November this year.

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