Ben White, Queensland University of Technology; Andrew McGee, Queensland University of Technology, and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Victoria stands a chance of becoming the first Australian jurisdiction in 20 years, and the first ever Australian state, to have an assisted dying law.
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?
Intuitively, we believe offering someone options automatically expands their freedom. But that isn’t always true. Sometimes, more options can lead to less freedom.
Proponents of legalising euthanasia claim it’s needed to ensure dying patients don’t experience unbearable suffering. But in fact, this is the one setting in which law change isn’t needed.
The Australian public supports legalising euthanasia and bills are introduced into state parliaments every year. Yet governments continue to resist legalising euthanasia or assisted suicide.
It’s possible the difference between Australia and the Netherlands (where euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal) lies more in the way we think about what we are doing than what actually happens.
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…
Ethical issues are rife in medicine. Arguments about abortion, organ donation and euthanasia regularly take their turn in the headlines, normally prompted by media scare-stories or an arising controversy…
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings and Leader of the Tasmanian Greens Nick McKim have released a discussion paper that outlines and seeks comment on a proposed framework for “voluntary assisted dying”. The…