Patients with incurable cancer want to be informed about their disease and its treatment, but must also maintain hope. This inner conflict can affect how they process information about their prognosis.
It’s illegal to discuss voluntary assisted dying via telehealth, which means people who live in rural areas and those who can’t physically go to see a doctor may not be able to access the scheme.
Palliative care is often seen as a ‘last resort’ rather than a service that empowers terminally ill people to live as well as possible for as long as possible.
Bill C-7 has created ethical tensions between MAID providers and palliative care, between transparency and patient privacy, and between offering a dignified death rather than a dignified life.
Terminally ill research participants wanted to have the option of assisted dying if they needed it, and felt they knew best when the time was right for them to die.
From June 19, Victorians at the end of their lives can request medical assistance to die. Voluntary assisted dying may offer a new option for some, but the practice will be strictly regulated.
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Public opinion, shifting views in the health profession and international trends allowing assisted dying mean it will be lawful in Australia at some point. But will it be lawful in Victoria soon?
Imagine this situation: a person has no medical illness but wishes to end his or her life purely because he or she no longer wishes to live. Should they be eligible for euthanasia or assisted suicide?
During a discussion on Q&A, author Nikki Gemmell said 80% of Australians and up to 70% of Catholics and Anglicans support euthanasia laws. Is that right?
Just because a person is dying does not mean that he or she is in a state of panic. Here’s an example of how one woman, through a well-lived life, remained at peace as she faced death.