Health spent a lot of time in the spotlight in 2016. Medicare was a major issue in Australia’s federal election and numerous government reviews into health were announced and reported.
Andrew McGee, Queensland University of Technology; Ben White, Queensland University of Technology, and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
A bill may be released soon in Victoria so we should examine why the South Australian bill did not pass to see if any lessons can be learned for future bills.
Proponents of assisted suicide, such as emeritus archbishop Desmond Tutu, argue that as people have the right to live with dignity, they also have the right to die with dignity.
Each suicide has a social, economic and cultural context. And unless these factors are considered alongside psychiatric care, steadily increasing suicide rates will not be curbed.
California now allows terminally ill people to end their lives. In the 2,800-year-old Jain tradition, individuals can choose to fast unto death, when it makes no sense to prolong suffering.
Why have Americans become more receptive to aid in dying, a practice that was rejected throughout the United States until Oregon changed course in 1997?
The debate on the role of law and ethics at the end of life is an enduring one. In 1971, such debate was focused almost solely upon the Netherlands when a rural physician called Truus Postma facilitated…
In the week that parliament resumes debate on Lord Falconer’s assisted dying bill, we can expect further claims about whether the proposed legislation is compassionate. Greater clarity is needed in use…
Even before its second reading in the House of Lords, Lord Falconer’s assisted dying bill has been stirring up controversy. High level support for the bill from important religious leaders such as former…
A group of prominent disability campaigners has argued that legalising assisted suicide would make the lives of elderly and vulnerable disabled people worth less than the lives of ordinary people. However…
The Scottish Parliament prides itself in the number of visitors it receives. They might hope for a sighting of the first minister, but Margo MacDonald was the member the public was keenest to actually…
A bill on physician-assisted suicide is being considered by the Scottish parliament. It is the second attempt by independent member Margo MacDonald, who has Parkinson’s disease, to get such a law onto…
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Late last week, the Belgian parliament passed laws that granted children access to euthanasia. The laws have been controversial and attracted significant discussion internationally. Opponents of reform…
Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper killed herself before the watershed last night. The build up to this prompted the inevitable moral panic frenzy. The media’s role in the representation of suicide is…
When it comes to legislating voluntary euthanasia in Australia, success is rare and short lived. The Tasmanian Voluntary Assisted Dying bill is the latest such piece of euthanasia legislation to be defeated…