Pages tagged "South Australia"
Euthanasia and assisted suicide laws - no one is ever satisfied.
Jan 05, 2017
By Paul Russell: It is perhaps a statement of the obvious that those who oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide are never happy about the passage of such laws. Paradoxically, those that propose them and those that support them are never really satisfied either.There are a number of ways we can look at this reality. The most obvious angle is that, no matter how the laws are framed, there will always be a developing tension over time created by and on behalf of people who don't qualify. Such is the case at the moment in Canada where, in an act of appeasement to get their law through the Ottawa Parliament last year, a promise was made to look further into euthanasia and assisted suicide for minors, for mental health reasons and via advance directives. Studies are now underway to advance these causes.
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Donnelly: What happens when those who care support killing?
Nov 23, 2016
As we have noted before, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation teamed up with Andrew Denton to push the case for euthanasia in the two debates held recently in South Australia. Early on in the first debate, I found myself in a discussion on live radio with one of the leaders in the Nurses Federation. At the time, Denton had been pushing the untruth that euthanasia was not killing. I saw it as my principle role to make sure that people understood what rubbish this indeed was. So, I wondered to the radio announcer whether or not the nurses would support euthanasia as they obviously were if, in fact, it was they that had to do the killing? The nurses boss brushed aside the question without really answering.It was only a few short weeks later when the second bill was introduced that we noted with horror that nurses were indeed able, under this new regimen, to kill their patients if authorised by a doctor.
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'Death with Dignity' Bill defeated in SA Parliament
Nov 17, 2016
by Paul Russell: The latest in a long line of euthanasia bills was debated in the South Australian Parliament today.As I sat at my desk last night to listen to the euthanasia debate in the South Australian Parliament I began to write the words of an email to supporters that I expected to be sending sometime during the night advising them that, for the first time since 1995, we had lost debate on a euthanasia bill in an Australian legislature.
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Crossing the clear, bright line
Oct 29, 2016
by Paul Russell: Dutch journalist, Gerbert van Loenen once observed about euthanasia in his homeland that, 'Making euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide legal started a development we did not foresee. The old limit 'thou shalt not kill' was abandoned, a new limit is yet to be found.'When we abandon the principle that the law (in this case the criminal code prohibitions on homicide) protects all of its citizens equally, as van Loenen observes, drawing a new line is arbitrary. More than that; it is likely to shift further in ways that perhaps the Dutch did not foresee but that we at least, can now reflect upon given their experiences.
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Committee to look at Elder Abuse in South Australia
Oct 21, 2016
by Paul Russell: In the wake of the parliamentary debate in South Australia yesterday concerning euthanasia, the South Australian Upper House has referred the matter of Elder Abuse to a select committee of the parliament for an inquiry. (NB: this is an accident of timing only)This comes only a few months after the Parliament of New South Wales received its committee report on the same matter. This new inquiry was prompted, in part at least, by a shocking report of abuse of a nursing home resident by a support worker in Adelaide a few months ago.
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One bill down, one to go in South Australia
Oct 20, 2016
by Paul Russell: The Shadow Disability Minister in SA simply doesn't get it.
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Circumventing debate in SA - MP puts new bill because old one expected to fail.
Oct 19, 2016
By Paul Russell: Last night the mover of the Voluntary Euthanasia Bill 2016, Steph Key gave a rather cryptic comment to the South Australian media about the possible adoption of their 'plan b'.It is not a stretch to observe that one only goes to a 'plan b' if 'plan a' - the existing bill, is not going to pass muster.
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Disability activists tell SA MPs 'No' to euthanasia. AMA agrees.
Oct 18, 2016
by Paul Russell: Today a diverse group of disability activists assembled in the South Australian Parliament to deliver a very clear message to politicians about their concerns with the euthanasia legislation currently under debate.The Voluntary Euthanasia Bill 2016 was tabled by Steph Key MP in February this year. It is the most extreme bill of the thirteen presented thus far in the SA Parliament and would effectively make South Australia the 'Belgium of the south'.
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