World Federation of Right to Die Societies International Conference 2024
These were our Keynote Speakers & Contributors
Photos and Videos avaiable soon
Conference Day 1 - Friday 20 September
Stefanie Green
Dr. Stefanie Green spent 10 years in general practice and another 12 years working exclusively in maternity and newborn care before changing her focus in 2016 to medical assistance in dying (MAiD)
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Dr. Green is the Founding President of the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) and co-lead of its Canadian MAiD Curriculum Project.
She is a medical advisor to the BC Ministry of Health MAiD oversight committee, moderator of CAMAP’s national online community of practice, and has hosted several national conferences on the topic.
Beyond her clinical practice, she frequently speaks about MAiD to a wide range of audiences locally, nationally and internationally and recently gave a TEDx talk that is now available online.
Dr. Green is clinical faculty at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria, and most recently, is the author of the internationally bestselling book THIS IS ASSISTED DYING, a memoir about her first year providing assisted dying in Canada.
Brendan O’ Shea
Dr Brendan O’ Shea, MD FRCGP is a GP and Occupational Medicine Physician at The Bridge Medical Centre, Newbridge, Ireland, and Assistant Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
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Academic interests include improving care for people with multimorbidity, end of life planning, health system innovation, obesity, and global health, which areas he has taught on and researched. Graduating from Trinity College, he completed his GP Training on the TCD GP Training Scheme, and completed MD Thesis on Childhood Overweight at Trinity. He has previously been on Board of Directors at The Irish Hospice Foundation, and on Beyond Stigma. Over 3 decades in practice in Kildare, he has been involved in the training and education of Doctors, including Undergraduates, Specialty Training in General Practice, and Continuing Medical Education for Doctors. He is a member at IDsMAiD (Irish Doctors Supporting Medical Assistance in Dying), is currently on Council at The ICGP, Medical Director at K Doc, and was previously Medical Director at The Irish College of General Practitioners.
Mark Murphy
Dr Mark Murphy work as a GP in Dublin, Ireland. Mark has held several academic, management, union and professional representative roles.
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Mark knows that the goal of medicine is to prevent or cure illness in partnership with patients – but the reality is that we cannot always cure and that dying is a reality that we all must confront. By listening to patients who are dying with a terminal condition, we can appreciate that a substantial minority want control of their end-of-life choices. Those who have an incurable condition don’t want to die. That choice has been taken away.
Mark’s belief is that we should be there as a society to respect all individual’s right to die in a manner that they wish – giving them that choice. By platforming autonomy we can provide dignity to those at the end of their lives. Whilst he believes it is a human right to access Voluntary Assisted Dying, it is also a medical process, which needs legislation, careful regulation and transparency in its clinical governance. As Ireland discusses how we should introduce VAD, it is extremely welcome to host the WFTD and allow conversations and reflections from other jurisdictions, to guide best practice in the provision of Assisted Dying.
Tom O'Dowd
Tom O’Dowd is Emeritus Professor of General Practice, Trinity College Dublin and a Principal in General Practice, West Dublin
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Following GP training in general practice in Ireland, Tom joined the NHS as a GP Principal and worked in the University of Wales College of Medicine (1980 – 86) as a lecturer and subsequently the University of Nottingham (1986 – 1993) as a senior lecturer.
In 1993 he was appointed to the Chair of General Practice in Trinity College and was Chairman of the Education Committee of the Medical Council that led to the current professionalisation of medical education in Ireland. He is a Past President of the Irish College of General Practitioners and is a practising GP in Tallaght, West Dublin with a GMS list and partner alongside three colleagues in a primary health care centre to provide a full range of services to patients including participation in the local out of hours co-operative of which he was Chair for five years.
Ken Olinger
Ken Olinger, MICGP, graduated from Cornell University and qualified in Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
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He was a principal in a busy general practice in Dublin for nearly forty years. He looked after, in some cases, four generations. This is where he gained insight into and compassion for the lives of his patients
Justin McKenna
Justin McKenna has over 40 years continuous experience as a solicitor practising in the area of end of life.
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He is a former chairperson of the Law Society Committee on Probate Administration and Trusts and a former President of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association.
He is one of the founding partners of Partners at Law Solicitors, a law firm based in Dun Laoghaire.
Corrinna Moore
Corrinna Moore is the Research Ethics and Integrity Officer at Trinity College Dublin.
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In September Corrina will begin her PhD in Medical Ethics on the topic of Assisted Dying under the co-supervision of Professor Barry Lyons, in the School of Medicine and Professor Andrea Mulligan, in the School of Law and is also a bio-chemistry graduate of the University of Oxford.
Following completion of her MSc in Healthcare Ethics and Law at the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland under the course direction of Medical Ethicist Professor David Smith, in part fulfilment of this degree in 2021 Corrinna conducted a 6 qualitative study month research project ‘Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): The General Practitioner’s View’, under supervision of Dr. Louise Campbell, a contributor to the 2018 and 2024 Joint Oireachtas Committee Debates on Assisted Dying. This research is the first of its kind in Ireland, an academic paper on which is being peer-reviewed for publication in the Medical Law Review.
She lives in Dublin with her husband and has 5 children.
Manuel Gómez Moruno
Dr Manuel Gómez Moruno is a GP in Mallow, Cork, graduated from the University of Barcelona Medical School.
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Manuel was trained in Viladecans, a diverse working-class city near Barcelona, Manuel specializes in chronic diseases and holds a keen interest in Medically Assisted Dying.
Driven by a progressive view of medicine and patient autonomy, he actively advanced discourse in this field while working in Spain, providing training and assessing patient applications with compassion.
As an advocate for healthcare policy reform, Dr Gomez is a member of the “Irish Doctors supporting Medical Assistance in Dying” group, dedicated to patient-centered end-of-life care in Ireland.
Gary Payinda
Dr Gary Payinda is an emergency medicine specialist who campaigned for the legalisation of assisted dying in New Zealand in 2018.
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In 2019 saw the law passed by a resounding majority of voters. In 2021 he began work as one of the first medical practitioners with the Assisted Dying Service of the New Zealand Ministry of Health.
MD MA DDU FACEM FACEP
Emergency Medicine Specialist
Tanja Daws
Dr. Tanja Daws is a family physician and MAiD Provider practising in the Comox Valley, in rural British Columbia, Canada.
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Tanya graduated from The University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2000 and has worked in Canada since 2009.
She was one of the first MAiD providers in BC upon legalisation of MAiD in 2016 and is a founding member of The Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP).
She is a clinical instructor in Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia and member of the Physician Advisory Council for Dying with Dignity Canada. She chaired the working group tasked with development of the topic “Providing MAiD” for the Canadian National MAiD Curriculum and continues to teach as a faculty member.
She is experienced in teaching and developing MAiD services in rural locations, managing conscientious objection of facilities and medical colleagues, as well as developing family and friend support groups.
Colin Brewer
Colin Brewer is a retired psychiatrist. He was a lecturer at Birmingham and director of the Westminster Hospital’s alcoholism service.
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Colin is the author of O, let me not get Alzheimer’s, sweet heaven! Why many people prefer death or deliverance to living with dementia.
Active in the national and international right-to-die movement since 1978, he currently co-chairs the Clinical Advisory Group of My Death, My Decision.
In 2007, he co-produced an Edinburgh festival play about Jean Meslier (1664-1729) the secretly atheist priest of a French village, who wrote a 500-page denunciation of Christianity.
Lew Cohen
Prof. Lew Cohen is an internationally known emeritus professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, and a palliative medicine clinician-researcher based in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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Lew is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Soros Faculty Scholar, and the recipient of Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowships and a Bogliasco Foundation Writing Residency.
His most recent book, WINTER’S END: DEMENTIA AND DYING WELL (Oxford University Press, July 2024), is a detailed narrative about the decision by Dan Winter to hasten his death after receiving a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It is layered with the voices of 100 palliative care practitioners, legal scholars, bioethicists, neurologists, and other authorities from North America and Europe.
Jessica Young
Dr Jessica Young is a Cancer Society Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and senior research fellow in the School of Health at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and an adjunct senior lecturer in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research, at the Queensland University of Technology.
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Jessica is a sociologist specialising in health, illness, death and medicine.
Her PhD (Otago) focused on the perspectives of terminally ill people who would consider choosing assisted dying.
Her post-doctoral research is comprised of two projects, understanding patients’ palliative care and hospice decision-making; and the experiences of people using the assisted dying process, their whānau and assisted dying providers.
She leads several projects on assisted dying including the first national study ‘Exploring the early experiences of the assisted dying service in Aotearoa New Zealand’, with $1.4m funding from the New Zealand Health Research Council. Jessica established and co-chairs the Assisted Dying Research Network and was a founding member of the statutory body Support and Consultation for End of Life NZ (SCENZ) Group.
Jessica welcomes research collaborations in these areas.
Stephen Duckworth
Stephen Duckworth was opposed to assisted dying before he joined Lord Faulkner’s Commission on Assisted Dying (2011-2012)
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Over 12 months gathering evidence from thousands of people in the UK and around the world, he changed his mind on the basis of the evidence presented.
Stephen broke his neck whilst a medical student aged 21, now 43 years later using an electric powered wheelchair, he is Board Director Network Rail; Board Director Palace of Westminster Restoration & Renewal; Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Professor of Bio-Engineering (University of Southampton) and Chair of the Rugby Football Union Injured Players Foundation and World Rugby Injured Players Charities.
Eric Mathison
Professor Eric Mathison is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a practicing clinical ethicist.
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Eric is the author of multiple academic papers on the ethics of assisted dying, and, as a clinical ethicist, has worked on the implementation of medical assistance in dying in hospitals in Alberta and Ontario.
Eric also writes about assisted dying for his newsletter, Value Judgments. Prior to his position at the University of Toronto, Eric was a clinical ethicist for Alberta Health Services.
Before that, he was a postdoctoral fellow in clinical ethics at Baylor College of Medicine and has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Toronto.
Siobhan Malone McBarron
Siobham Malone McBarron is navigating life with grace and determination despite living with a degenerative neuromuscular
disease. Siobhan is deeply committed to raising awareness about living with a chronic illness and promoting understanding.
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Siobhan is an advocate for end-of-life choice and dignity campaign, committed to ensuring that individuals
facing both terminal and non-curable illness with no defined timeline, have the right to make decisions about their own care. With her own personal experience and profound empathy, she has
become an active voice in the End- of – Life Ireland campaign. Siobhan believes in empowering individuals
with the autonomy to choose peaceful and a dignified end, that is aligned with their values and beliefs. Her commitment is fuelled by a deep understanding of the complexities and emotions
involved in end-of- life decisions.
Siobhan will continue to work tirelessly towards campaigning for End-of-life Ireland for a future where
persons living with a life debilitating illness can face the end of life with dignity and peace, surrounded by loved ones and supported by compassionate care.
Jule Briese
Jule Briese is a Canadian author, educator and workshop facilitator who enjoys creating opportunities for inspirational performances focusing on personal stories, songs and poetry.
She resides in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia.
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Jule earned her Certificate in Conflict Resolution/Negotiation from the Justice Institute of B.C. She also has a Death and Grief Studies Certificate from the Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jule recently completed The End -of -Life Doula Program through Douglas College branch of Continuing Education in British Columbia. Her focus is on Dementia and the choice for MAiD.
Jule has designed and facilitated workshops in the areas of, nurturing grief and loss, reconciling grief through creativity and most recently compassionate support for those with dementia and their nurturing companions exploring the choice for medical assistance in dying.
Lived experience supporting her husband on his journey to MAiD became the catalyst for writing The Hot Chocolate and Decadent Cake Society – Alzheimer’s and the Choice for MAiD – a Memoir in Poetry and Prose and Shared Conversations -Glimpses Into Alzheimer’s. Her one act play, Ten Minutes to Midnight was adapted from Jule’s latest book mentioned above.
Jule welcomes opportunities to share her MAiD experience and to emotionally support others walking this journey.
Nick Carr
Dr Nick Carr Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Melbourne University
Nick trained at Cambridge University and in London before moving to Melbourne in 1988.
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Conference Day 2- Saturday 21 September
Tara & Sarah
Brendan Clarke’s nieces Tara and Sarah will be speaking about the impact of his diagnosis, the need for legislation drawing on their experience of supporting Brendan, what he endured and how a kinder, assisted death would have helped them, as well as being what Brendan, their dearly loved uncle wanted.
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Brendan Clarke wanted to see legislation for Assisted Dying and spent his last months speaking out about why it mattered to him. Very sadly Brendan died before his request to meet with the Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying was granted.
Tina McCafferty
Tina McCafferty is CEO of Tōtara Hospice. She is of Scots Irish decent and has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for 26 years.
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Tina is an activist- advocate for social justice, including equity of access to and outcome from health care.
She has worked in clinical, executive management and governance roles across a range of environments and has been CEO of Tōtara Hospice since 2015.
Along with her senior team she has led Tōtara to become the most socially progressive Hospice in NZ and the only Hospice to provide a fully integrated Assisted Dying Service as part of contemporary, patient centred palliative and end of life care.
Tina holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Health Management.
She is an internationally accredited coach and a member of the Asia-Pacific branch of the European Mentoring & Coaching Council, the NZ Institute of Directors and the CEO Institute.
Jocelyn Downie
Jocelyn Downie is Professor Emeritus in the Faculties of Law and Medicine at Dalhousie University.
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Jocelyn’s work on end-of-life law and policy includes: author of Dying Justice: A Case for the Decriminalizing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada; and member of the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on End-of-Life Decision-Making, the plaintiffs’ legal team in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying, and the Canadian Council of Academies Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying.
She was named a member of the Order of Canada in part in recognition of her work advocating for high-quality, end-of-life care.
She is also a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Greg Mewett
Dr Greg Mewett was a GP in Bendigo, Central Victoria (Australia) for 22 years during which time he developed a special interest in palliative care and was an educator & clinical advisor with the Loddon-Mallee Regional Palliative Care Team.
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He left general practice in 2004 and retrained as a palliative care physician in Melbourne, completing his Fellowship in 2007. After a year as a locum consultant in the north-west of Tasmania, he commenced as a palliative care physician at Ballarat Health Services and the Grampians Regional Palliative Care Team (regional Victoria) in March 2008. After almost 15 years, he resigned from that position in early January 2023. He is currently doing intermittent palliative care specialist locum work throughout Australia.
Greg has developed a special interest in clinical ethics particularly as related to end-of-life care and decision-making. He was a member of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Implementation Taskforce appointed by the Victorian Minister of Health to oversee the introduction of the VAD legislation in Victoria.
He is a ‘conscientious provider’ of VAD which he incorporates into his specialist palliative care practice.
MBBS FAChPM
Palliative Care Physician
Ballarat, Vic 3350
AUSTRALIA
Brendan O’ Shea
Dr Brendan O’ Shea, MD FRCGP is a GP and Occupational Medicine Physician at The Bridge Medical Centre, Newbridge, Ireland, and Assistant Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
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Academic interests include improving care for people with multimorbidity, end of life planning, health system innovation, obesity, and global health, which areas he has taught on and researched. Graduating from Trinity College, he completed his GP Training on the TCD GP Training Scheme, and completed MD Thesis on Childhood Overweight at Trinity. He has previously been on Board of Directors at The Irish Hospice Foundation, and on Beyond Stigma. Over 3 decades in practice in Kildare, he has been involved in the training and education of Doctors, including Undergraduates, Specialty Training in General Practice, and Continuing Medical Education for Doctors. He is a member at IDsMAiD (Irish Doctors Supporting Medical Assistance in Dying), is currently on Council at The ICGP, Medical Director at K Doc, and was previously Medical Director at The Irish College of General Practitioners.
Mike Gaffney
The Hon. Mike Gaffney (MLC) was elected to the Legislative Council (Upper
House) of the Parliament of Tasmania in 2009 for a six-year term. He was re-elected in 2015 and again elected unopposed in 2021, and is the Independent Member for the Mersey Electorate.
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Mike was a high school teacher for many years and in 1994, as a 34-year old, he nominated, and was elected, as a Councillor on the Latrobe Council.
He served four years as a Councillor, four years as Deputy Mayor and at the age of 42 commenced 12 years as Mayor of Latrobe whilst still teaching.
In 2006 Mike was elected as the President of Local Government of Tasmania for a two-year term and was also re-elected unopposed. In this capacity Mike was a Director of the Australian Local Government Association.
In 2020, Mike tabled and progressed the End-of-Life Choices (Voluntary
Assisted Dying) Bill, through the state Parliament.
The new 2021 Act came into operation in October 2022. It is not often that private member bills originate in the Upper House, especially one which had failed 3 times previously in the House of Assembly.
It was a remarkable journey as Mike only had one full time member of staff and the Act was 190 pages – a significant piece of legislation.
The Bill received unanimous support in the Upper House; a world first for the VAD/Euthanasia laws.
Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly BL is a barrister with a particular interest in healthcare and medical law. Following publication of “The Future of Assisted Dying in Ireland” in the Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland, he was invited as an expert witness to the Joint Oireachtas Special Committee on Assisted Dying, alongside Simon Mills BL, who represented Marie Fleming.
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The committee concluded that assisted dying is permissible within the current Irish Constitution in certain circumstances.
Kevin’s legal opinion, together with his written submissions to the Committee, were incorporated in the Joint Oireachtas Report on Assisted Dying which recommended the introduction of assisted dying by way of legislative reform in Ireland.
Justin McKenna
Justin McKenna has over 40 years continuous experience as a solicitor practising in the area of end of life.
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He is a former chairperson of the Law Society Committee on Probate Administration and Trusts and a former President of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association.
He is one of the founding partners of Partners at Law Solicitors, a law firm based in Dun Laoghaire.
Silvan Luley
Silvan Luley is a team member of the Swiss non-profit membership association “DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity
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Professor and researcher at the Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
Lines of research: Death in Medical Practice; End-of-life decisions.
Author of Euthanasia. Practice and Ethics (2005); co-author of A Good-bye in Harmony (2015); and co-author of End-of Life Medical Decisions in Patients with Alzheimer Disease (2017) [Books in Spanish].
Member of the Academy of Bioethics, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National System of Researchers, president of Freedom to Die (all in Mexico).
Thaddeus Mason Pope
Prof. Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD, HEC-C
is a foremost expert on medical law and clinical ethics. He focuses on patient rights and healthcare decision making, especially at the end of life.
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While Professor Pope serves in a range of consulting capacities, he has been particularly influential through extensive high-impact scholarship.
Ranked among the Top 20 most cited health law scholars in the United States and the Top 50 in the world, Pope has over 300 law, medicine, and bioethics publications.
A fellow of the Hastings Center and previously both a Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Health Law, Policy, and Ethics at the University of Ottawa, and a visiting scholar at the Brocher Foundation in Switzerland; Pope is now a Professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Especially relevant to this conference, Pope has been a regular consultant to the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying, an advisor to other end-of-life advocacy organizations, a frequent testifier in legislative hearings on MAID, and an expert witness in litigation concerning assisted dying.
Jane Morris
President Dying With Dignity Victoria
As a nurse, Jane Morris witnessed the intolerable and inhumane suffering experienced by some dying individuals.
Jane has completed a Master of Bioethics.
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Jane says ‘My mother’s hideous death from Motor Neurone Disease spurred me on to become a staunch advocate for VAD Legislation.
Encouraged by the late Dr Rodney Syme, I joined the DWDV Board. I fervently believe that every individual should be afforded choice at the end of life. No human should have to die in horrific circumstances like my parents and former patients. No human should be left haunted traumatised by the lasting images of a loved one suffering inhumanely. ‘
Vincent Devine
Vincent Devine is an Irish artist based in Co.Offaly, Ireland. He learned to draw at the age of 4 and paint at the age of 9. He studied at The Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest and has a Honours Degree in Visual Communications.
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Devine’s work is in public and private collections Internationally and he has exhibited in Hong Kong, Toronto, Miami and extensively in the UK and Ireland. His work has featured in many publications including The Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post and the Irish Independent. His record breaking portrait of female health campaigner Vicky Phelan garnered national coverage including a feature on RTE News and Nationwide.
His oeuvre focuses on reconstructing tree forms while his portraiture reflects his love of the human anatomy and the unseen.
In 2023 his work expanded into cancer research where he was invited to work with University College Dublin to depict the intricate layers of cancer. While working closely with cancer researchers and patient advocates Devine has developed groundbreaking paintings which through public engagement events are helping to communicate complex subjects to increase awareness and improve public engagement with the
sciences. His work serves as a visual medium that dismantles barriers inviting viewers to contemplate and explore profound subjects beyond traditional methods.
For more information go to: www.vincentdevine.com
Sharon Foley
Sharon Foley is a distinguished healthcare executive with over 30 years of experience in sexual health, crisis pregnancy, health services delivery, and end-of-life care.
Throughout her career, she has been a relentless advocate for equitable access to healthcare, demonstrating a deep commitment to championing informed and balanced debates on pressing social issues.
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After qualifying as a dietitian, Sharon dedicated many years to health promotion through working within the Health Services and the Department of Health. She served as the inaugural CEO of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and led the Irish Hospice Foundation as CEO for over 11 years. With her extensive expertise as a management consultant and her two Master’s degrees, she continues to work to support the advancement of healthcare initiatives.
Kashmir Lesnick-Petrovicz
As a photographer, Kashmir Lesnick-Petrovicz work focuses on the interconnectedness of humanity and the environment. In using her skills as a visual artist, she fosters greater understanding of global and societal issues, including climate literacy and refugee rights. She will speak on What Legislation for MAiD Meant to Her
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For three months in 2023, Kashmir Lesnick-Petrovicz documented the work of a non-profit in South Africa. Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) works with rural farmers and the rural poor and focuses on food sovereignty, rural democratization and movement building.
Kashmir’s internship was part of her Global Studies program and she received a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to fund her internship. The scholarship program funds three-month international field internships and aims to develop the next generation of innovative leaders and community builders.
The communications position combined her two fields of study in Visual Arts and Global Studies. During her internship, she created the non-profit’s annual report, documented work through photography and videography at agroecology hubs, and interviewed activists, movement organizers and farmers. She also connected with women from a land-back movement. These women work on small pieces of land that they either own or have taken over.
Marion Dyer
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