Judge Orders Jury To Strike Out Two Charges In Assisted Suicide Case

Judge orders jury to strike out two charges in assisted suicide case

The judge in the Gail O'Rorke assisted suicide trial has directed the jury to strike out two of the charges against her. However the 43 year old of Kilclare Gardens, Tallaght remains accused of attempting to help her friend Bernadette Forde take her own life by making travel arrangements to Dignitas in Switzerland between March and April 2011. The evidence has been that she was a friend and carer to 51 year old Bernadette Forde who had multiple sclerosis and was in a wheelchair. In June 2011 the 51 year old former HR manager took a lethal dose of barbiturates bought online from Mexico. There was evidence that two months earlier Gail O'Rorke had been booked to travel to assisted suicide clinic Dignitas with her. The jury heard the trip was thwarted when the travel agent contacted gardai. Gail O'Rorke told gardai at the time that she didn't know that what she was doing was illegal. In his final address prosecution barrister Remy Farrell told the jury that ignorance of the law was never a defence.