Ben White, Queensland University of Technology; Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology, and Marcus Sellars, Australian National University
Interviews with 32 doctors who provided voluntary assisted dying services in Victoria found layers of bureaucracy made it difficult for patients to access the system. Some died while waiting.
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Draft legislation which would see voluntary assisted dying allowed in Queensland will be introduced into the state’s parliament next week. So how does the proposed law compare to other states?
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.
Assisted dying is often cast as an issue of individual autonomy, but an assisted death can have repercussions on many people — those left behind or others struggling with a chronic disease.
Over the first year of voluntary assisted dying in Victoria, about 400 people applied to access the laws to end their lives. There are lingering issues, but the system is workable.
Terminally ill patients in nine states and Washington, DC can use telemedicine to get a doctor’s approval to hasten their end of life. But family members must mix the lethal drug cocktail themselves.
A new report tells us in the first six months voluntary assisted dying was legal in Victoria, 52 people ended their lives. But the report doesn’t tell us everything we need to know.
Nine states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that permit assisted dying, but the laws are so restrictive that they are often more hurdle than help.
A marathon round of amendments and parliamentary debate will likely see voluntary assisted dying implemented in WA in around 18 months. It’s time to start preparing.
Many people might want to choose how, when, and under what circumstances they die – but diseases like dementia can complicate advance euthanasia directives.
One judge must not be allowed to curtail parliament’s power to promote broader societal interests and protect people who are elderly, ill and disabled.
Nurses who surround the process of medically assisted dying are an important source of insight into the real conversations our society needs to have about what it’s really like.
Western Australia might soon become the second state in Australia to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Its proposed law draws on the Victorian model, but has some important differences, too.
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology; Eliana Close, Queensland University of Technology, and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
As we sit on the cusp of voluntary assisted dying becoming legal in Victoria, we expect it won’t always be simple for people who want it to access it – at least in the legislation’s early days.
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.
David Goodall had a good life and he wanted a good death, even though he wasn’t terminally ill. An end-of-life expert explains why he should have this right.