The remarks were made by Peter Kearns, an academic and disabled activist who serves as Development Officer with the Independent Living Movement of Ireland (ILMI).

Kearns warned that the introduction of assisted suicide in Ireland “could lead to disabled people making choices where, through lack of supports, they begin to view themselves as a ‘burden’.”

“Give us a chance to have a bit of a life before the other bit comes upon us,” he told the Committee, adding that disabled people often encounter “a narrative [that] your life is not as valued as a non-disabled citizen.”

[Who can blame them? Just look at what’s happening already in Canada, where disabled people get referred to assisted suicide when requesting support for chronic disabilities. It starts as an option. It shortly becomes an expectation, and then the *only* option in single-payer health care systems. — Ed]