Marie Fleming's challenge under Irish law to the ban on
assisted suicide came to an end on April 29 2013. The Supreme Court
sympathised with the appellant's plight but was ultimately
constrained by its constitutional obligations to protect public
health and safety.
The appellant stated that her claim did not seek to legalise
euthanasia but instead aimed to prevent the criminalisation of
those providing assistance to the narrow sector of society who, due
to degenerative and terminal illness, require assistance in ending
their lives.
Assisting a person to commit suicide is a criminal offence under
Section 2(2) of the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993. The appellant
argued that the High Court erred in finding the ban constitutional
and compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Interestingly, the appellant did not appeal against the High
Court's refusal to direct the director of public prosecutions
to publish guidelines on the factors considered in
