Backlash as medics drop ‘deliberate killing’ clause
Council move sparks fury from hudreds of doctors as well as clergy
‘It certainly undermines trust’
THE Irish Medical Council has defended the removal of the prohibition on the ‘deliberate killing of a patient’ from its ethical guidelines.
A decision by the council to remove a key paragraph from its ethical guidelines, which says ‘you must not take part in the deliberate killing of a patient’, has triggered backlash from hundreds of doctors as well as the clergy.
The Irish Daily Mail understands that a letter was sent to the Irish Medical Council signed by 300 doctors expressing concerns about the deletion of the clause in the latest edition of the ethics guide, which came into force at the start of this year.
Professor Desmond O’Neill, geriatrician in Tallaght University Hospital, said: ‘People were stunned when it was dropped’.
‘There’s a very good reason for that clause to be there in the ethics guide,’ he said. ‘It certainly undermines trust in them as a centre of competence in ethical reasoning.’
Bishop Kevin Doran of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference has questioned whether they now think it is ‘acceptable’ for doctors to take part in the deliberate killing of a patient.
‘Even if assisted suicide were to be legalised, for example, that of itself would never make the killing of patients ethical,’ the bishop said, arguing that the matter impacts the ‘common good of our society by radically redefining what is “good” for us all.’
The Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying, which has been tasked with examining whether Ireland should legislate for assisted suicide or not, heard from the Medical Council yesterday who said ‘the removal of this sentence does not diminish the law.’
Dr Suzanne Crowe, President of the Irish Medical Council, said it does not have a position on assisted dying and the removal of the paragraph was not ‘taking a stance or paving the way for any possible future change, and should not be interpreted this way.’
‘The guide states that the medical profession must comply with, and operate within, the law.
‘As per legislation, it is illegal for all individuals, including doctors, to take part in the deliberate killing of a person, or to assist a person to end their own life.’
A prohibition on ‘actively’ or ‘deliberate’ killing a patient has been mentioned in the ethical guidelines for over 40 years.
‘It was felt that it was a little bit out of keeping with our principlesbased guidance. We were very keen that it’s not a legal code. It’s principles-based guidance and in a sense, the committee couldn’t understand why it was the only criminal statute that was referred to,’ Dr Crowe said.
She said that prohibition on deliberate killing of a person is ‘the law of the land’, and said that the removal doesn’t ‘change the principles-based guidance.’
Dr Crowe said the ethics committee in the council began updating the guidelines over two years ago but in the last 12 months the removal of this paragraph was discussed.
She said the committee carried out consultation work on the ethics guide overall but did not have any specific consultation on the removal of the paragraph in endof-life care.
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen said it was ‘surprising’ that the Medical Council did not have any specific consultation around the deletion of this article, ‘given that this is fairly fundamental change.’
Prof O’Neill told the Mail that a prohibition on killing another person has always been in the law and questioned the reason for changing the ethical code now.
He said there needed to be ‘clear water between ethics and law.’
A Medical Council spokesman said a response to the letter from 300 doctors is being finalised.