In the first prosecution of its kind brought under the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993, a woman was last week acquitted of attempting to assist the suicide of her friend by facilitating her travel to a euthanasia clinic in Switzerland.
The accused, Gail O’Rorke, was a friend and carer to Bernadette Forde who had multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair. Ms. Forde took a lethal dose of barbiturates bought online from Mexico, following a previous attempt to attend a Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. The trip failed to go ahead when the Gardaí were alerted, Ms. O’Rorke having informed the travel agent of the purpose of the visit. Ms. O’Rorke was initially given a warning, until Ms. Forde’s passing when she was charged on three counts under the 1993 act.
Ms. O’Rorke pleaded not guilty to attempting to aid and abet the suicide of Ms. Forde through arranging travel to Switzerland; to aiding and abetting the suicide of Ms. Forde by helping her to procure and administer a toxic substance; and to procuring the suicide of Ms. Forde by making funeral arrangements in advance of death. Justice McCartan of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered the jury to acquit Ms. O’Rorke of the second and third charge due to lack of evidence. The jury ultimately found Ms. O’Rorke not guilty on all counts.
This case follows that of Marie Fleming, who brought proceedings to the Supreme Court challenging the blanket ban on assisting a person to die. Though sympathetic to Ms. Fleming’s situation, the Court was ultimately constrained by its constitutional obligations to protect public health and safety. The Court did, however, place the onus on the Oireachtas by noting its ability to legislate with appropriate safeguards against instances of abuse. Ms. Fleming’s partner, Tom Curran, has since been working on draft legislation which will be put forward as a private members bill by John Halligan TD. PILA has been facilitating this work through a group of pro bono barristers.
Meanwhile in the UK, the High Court has granted permission for a judicial review of the Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP) update to a set of guidelines on assisted suicide originally published in 2010. The 2010 guidelines were issued following a Supreme Court decision in favour of Debbie Purdy in which the Court found the lack of clarity on prosecution a violation of the right to a private and family life. The guidelines made clear that someone acting out of compassion to help a terminally ill patient with a “clear, settled and informed wish to die” was unlikely to face prosecution. The guidelines were amended in 2014 to address the situation of doctors and nurses assisting patients to die subsequent to the Nicklinson case, where a man with ‘locked-in syndrome’ was in need of medical assistance to end his own life. The applicants to the most recent judicial review proceedings argue that it is unconstitutional for the DPP to liberalise the policy on assisted suicide without the approval of the Attorney General.
Finally, in South Africa, the Pretoria High Court has ruled that an order to allow a man diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer end his life with the assistance of a doctor should stand despite the applicant dying two hours before the order was granted. The Judge refused an application by the Government to rescind the order on grounds of public interest, and called on the Constitutional Court and Parliament to reconsider the issue of legalising assisted dying.
Click here to read more on the draft assisted-dying legislation for Ireland.
Click here to read the Bulletin article on the Nicklinson case.