Religious leaders from various faiths and denominations have expressed their concerns over the prospect of assisted dying being legalised in Ireland.
Rev Dr Rory Corbett of the Church of Ireland said that assisted dying "is a euphimism for suicide or for killing by a third party".
It "could be interpreted as a duty to die", Rev Dr Steven Foster of the Methodist Church warned the Oireachtas Committee on Dying.
"Conscientious objection would have to be a part of any legislation", he said, urging that assisted dying, if legalised, is only introduced at "the request of the patient".
"In Islam, the unambiguous prohibition against suicide or assisted dying is unequivocally expressed in the Holy Koran," Chair of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri said.
"Killing is wrong. This is killing," the Very Rev Dr David Bruce of the Presbyterian Church said.
He acknowledged the existence of "the tension between competing rights of liberty and personal autonomy" and the "right to the protection of life".
But he warned of the danger of "a large and vulnerable group of citizens" being "exposed to exploitation" as a risk inherent in the permission of assisted dying.
Petra Conroy of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference said that: "Our Christian faith, which is shared by a significant proportion of the Irish people, teaches us that life is a gift which we hold in trust".
"What begins as a limited right tends to become a societal norm", she cautioned, adding that assisted dying "very quickly expands beyond people who are terminally ill" in countries where is has been introduced.
The Humanist Association of Ireland (HAI) challenged this, citing scientific research which has found "no evidence of a slippery slope" in countries where assisted dying is permitted.
Chair of the HAI Neil Ward urged that the issue be "framed in ethical rather than religious terms", noting that the association adopts a position "based on reason and compassion, and on the value we place on personal autonomy".
Acknowleding that the committee has already heard from its "sister organisation, Humanists UK", he said that "we believe the individual should have the right to choose to end their life".
