After a marathon overnight debate, in which the Minister for Health dismissed out of hand each one of the well-thought out amendments proposed to make her Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 just a little bit safer for vulnerable Victorians, it passed the Legislative Assembly 47 votes to 37 on Friday 20 October 2017. Continue reading

We, the undersigned Australian Palliative Medicine professionals, do not support the introduction of medically assisted suicide or euthanasia in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. We are also writing to address claims made about Palliative Care by assisted suicide advocates, including Mr Andrew Denton, to the public and in the media. We do not intend this response as an attack on Mr Denton, and wish him well with a good recovery in his present illness. Continue reading

From all around Australia, 580 health professionals have signed a statement rejecting assisted suicide and euthanasia, reaffirming the role of doctors, nurses and allied health as saving lives and providing real care and support for those who are suffering. Read their statement below: Continue reading

On 19 September 2017, just two days before assisted suicide bills (euphemistically called Voluntary Assisted Dying bills) were introduced respectively into the New South Wales Legislative Council and the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the American College of Physicians published its updated position paper on Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide in its prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine. Continue reading

Every five years, Statistics Netherlands publishes data on deaths by “medical end-of-life decision”. The latest data reports on all deaths in the Netherlands in 2015. In that year, there were 7254 deaths caused intentionally by lethal medication – 6672 deaths by euthanasia with a request; 431 deaths by euthanasia with no explicit request; and 150 deaths by assisted suicide. Continue reading

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 was introduced into the Legislative Council by the Hon Trevor Khan MLC on Thursday 21 September 2017. Continue reading

Safeguards, qualifications, accountability, and consent: none of these exist in Belgium when it comes to their euthanasia laws. Cambridge University Press is set to release Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Lessons from Belgium, which will be the first interdisciplinary study of euthanasia to be published. Continue reading

In her second reading speech introducing the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017, Victorian Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, opened with a declaration that “Far too many Victorians have suffered too much and for too long at the end of their lives”. Continue reading

A letter from 101 Victorian oncologists, sent to all Victorian MPs, illustrates the strong opposition to the Andrews government’s reckless proposal for assisted suicide and euthanasia. Continue reading

Many euthanasia and assisted suicide proponents frame their arguments around “facts” and declarations that there is a majority of citizens who support such legislation. Yet, when you take a closer look, their “strong” basis for support is based on misconceptions about such legislation – and misconstrued facts! Continue reading