Where: Kirwan Theare

When: Thursday 25th March

Time: 19:00 – 21:30

Motion: This House Would Legalise Euthanasia

How do you put a value on a life? Euthanasia seeks to do just that, by allowing someone to decide when the pain and suffering the feel mean that every moment spent alive is worse than a quick painless end. A subject that is hugely emotive in Ireland, this practice is legal in Switzerland, The Netherlands and some US states today.

Can it ever be right to allow someone to choose death? In a society which protects your right to life above all other things, how can we stand over someone’s decision to throw away that right? Surely for a doctor, to aid someone in essentially killing themselves goes against the Hippocratic Oath that they have sworn.

Then again, what about the principles of autonomy, of allowing people to choose what to do with their own bodies? It’s well over a decade since the Irish laws making suicide a crime were repealed, doesn’t this give a clearer picture of how we value life today? Our society is moving towards a place where Freedom of Choice is the ultimate goal, and what greater choice can there be? As for doctors, aren’t they just doing what they can to ease pain? Can we really prosecute them for fulfilling their patients?

Come along to hear the speakers make the case for and against the motion “This House Would Legalise Euthanasia”.