THE OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE on Assisted Dying has heard testimony from a man who passed away from motor neurone disease three months ago, via a posthumous video message.
Brendan Clarke, a Westport native who spent most of his life in Dublin, was due to speak to TDs and Senators in person, but he passed away on 3 August.
Fellow assisted dying campaigners from the End of Life group captured two video messages from Brendan Clarke – who was living with rapidly deteriorating mobility – in which he tells lawmakers “I just hope that ye will make the right decision for people like me”.
Brendan expressed his wish that he would have been able to avail of an assisted dying service while he was living with Motor Neurone disease, saying, “it’s not a life I want to live”.
He said that while opting to avail of assisted dying services is not an “easy decision” for anyone to make, “it is with my condition”.
“I cannot live like this, It’s not a life I want to live,” Brendan said in the video.
He added that he hoped when “all the committee meetings are done”, politicians move towards introducing assisted dying services, to “give people a choice”.
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Brendan’s niece Sarah, who was in the public gallery for today’s committee meeting alongside his other niece Tara, also spoke in the video message to voice her support for Brendan.
“You’ve had such a big and wild life, and I’ve just loved hearing all about it and being part of it.
“I consciously support you having made this decision because you have always known your own mind,” Sarah Said.
Tara, who also appeared in the video sat next to Brendan and Sarah, said that the last few weeks before the video was taken had marked a change in Brendan’s ability to cope with tasks like making his toast in the morning.
“It’s been heartbreaking to watch you lose control of even the simplest things,” Tara said.
She said that Brendan had “defiance and determination” up until the previous few weeks to do things like get himself up in the morning, and use the bathroom, and make his breakfast.
“It’s a small thing but it’s a massive curve ball in this story because the autonomy to do even that being taken away from you is heartbreaking,” she said.
Tara said that due to motor neurone disease and the toll it had taken on him, Brendan went from being “the life and soul of every party on every continent in the world and loved by all, to not being able to make your own toast.”
Brendan’s nieces added that while Brendan had always “loved” his flat in Dublin before, in recent months he had come to feel “trapped in it”.
Committee chairperson Michael Healy-Rae said that TDs and senators are “very grateful to the late Brendan and his family for sharing that video with us”.
“May he rest in peace. Thanks again to Tara and Sarah for being here today. I think that’s a very, very powerful engagement we’ve had here today,” Healy-Rae added.
The committee meeting proceeded on, hearing from representatives of different groups on the topic of enduring access to palliative care.
The committee will produce a report for the Oireachtas to consider at the end of its sessions. It has heard from speakers who oppose, and those who advocate for the introduction of assisted dying services in Ireland.
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