Kathy Sinnott MEP (as mentioned in my last
post) has written a thought-provoking
reflection on the Lisbon Treaty and its possible consequences for Ireland, in light of the bishops' pastoral letter. She looks at a number of life issues such as embryo research, abortion, disability rights and euthanasia, pointing out that the possibility of euthanasia being introduced into Ireland might be more serious than abortion. On euthanasia she notes: “We do not have any protective protocol and we already have precedent for euthanasia in Irish case law in the Ward Case of 1995 in which a High Court allowed a comatose woman, a ward of the state, to die by withdrawal of food and water.”
As we prepare for tomorrow’s vote, we should bear in mind Kathy’s remark about the unpredictable consequences of voting in favour of this treaty. She writes:
It is not unusual for us to take risks in many things, but in the life and death of our smallest human beings, I, for one, am not willing to take the risk.
