Assisted dying: states rally as bills offer chance to legalise voluntary euthanasia – The Guardian

Under legislation proposed in New South Wales, residents would have the legal right to end their own lives if terminally ill and likely to die within 12 months. Photograph: Alamy

In New South Wales and Victoria this week, two draft bills are being hailed by right-to-die advocates as the two best chances to legalise voluntary euthanasia in Australia in 20 years.

Sponsored by a cross-party coalition of five MPs, a draft version of the NSW voluntary assisted dying bill was unveiled on Tuesday, while in Victoria an independent ministerial advisory panel chaired by neurosurgeon and former Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler is due to release an interim report on Wednesday morning.

Both are scheduled to be presented to parliament in August with a good chance that one or both states will become the first jurisdiction to legalise euthanasia since the Northern Territorys assisted dying laws were overturned by the federal government in 1997.

In South Australia, a bill last November was defeated by one vote. In Western Australia, the recent Labor election victory has delivered a new premier and health minister who are openly calling for their laws around euthanasia to change.

As legislative momentum builds and community attitudes change, each state is approaching the issue in its own way.

The director of Dying with Dignity NSW, Shayne Higson, says the draft bill presented in Sydney on Tuesday is the most watertight in the world.

It will have the tightest eligibility criteria in the world and the highest safeguards for assisted dying, she says. It has a good chance of passing. I cant imagine what else they could do to safeguard it they have designed a bill that addresses all those concerns.

The result of collaboration between Liberal MP Lee Evans, Nationals MLC Trevor Khan, Labor MLC Lynda Voltz, Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi and independent MP Alex Greenwich, the voluntary assisted dying bill is a rare example of cross-party support that has Higson personally optimistic about its chances.

Under the proposed legislation, New South Wales residents would have the legal right to end their own lives if terminally ill and likely to die within 12 months. They would have to be over 25 and suffering severe pain or physical incapacity to an extent deemed unacceptable to the patient.

This would need to be verified by both a primary medical practitioner, and an independent specialist.

Higson also said the NSW bill was unique in further insisting the person must be examined by an independent psychiatrist or psychologist to determine if they are of sound mind and if their choice is voluntary.

The bill would also enable a close relative of the patient to apply to the supreme court for a judicial review and would force a 48-hour cooling off period in case they wanted to change their mind.

Khan said he was confident the working group had enough votes that we can shift across the aisle, despite noted opposition from the Christian Democrats.

We wouldnt be going forward unless we thought there was a chance, he said.

Like all recent and proposed euthanasia bills, the NSW bill would be up for a conscience vote, allowing MPs to vote unbound by party lines.

Victorias proposal has slowly but unfalteringly inched towards a conscience vote since the government announced in December 2016 that a bill would be put before parliament.

This would have the best chance of any of the bills up to date, because this it is a government bill.

Unlike in other states, the push in Victoria is directly sponsored by the premier, Daniel Andrews, and the health minister, Jill Hennessy. The planning has been rigorous and drawn out but the government support means euthanasia advocacy groups are confident the bill will be successfully passed by mid-year.

The process is currently being overseen by an advisory panel, who are following the recommendations of a June 2016 parliamentary committee inquiry into end of life choices.

It is likely that the final form of the bill will follow the June 2016 report but the advisory panel has been tasked with consulting stakeholders and providing more specific advice for the government.

On Wednesday, the committees interim report is set to be released, which contains feedback but no firm recommendations. A final report with recommendations is expected in July, which will then inform the final form of the bill, to be presented in August.

It is likely that the Victorian bill will apply to Victorian residents over the age of 18, who are suffering from a serious and incurable condition which is causing enduring and unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved in a manner the patient deems tolerable.

While the parliamentary committee recommended patients must be at the end of their life, the interim report found there was no clear consensus as to what timeframe this entailed and was still considering a range from six, 12 and 18 months.

In terms of safeguards, it is likely that doctors who are conscientious objectors could not be forced to assist patients end their life. Dementia or disability alone would also be excluded as an eligible condition in any final version of the law.

The patient will also need to be assessed by two doctors and they will be able to rescind the request at any time.

Higson said the Victorian bill had been the most thorough process in the history of this movement.

On the face of it, this would have the best chance of any of the bills up to date, because this it is a government bill. There are more the resources behind it, they have appointed an expert panel led by Brian Owler and the process that theyve followed has been impeccable.

Following Labors election win in March this year, WAs new health minister, Roger Cook, has been pushing for voluntary euthanasia to be legalised.

I support voluntary euthanasia and I think we need to legislate to enable people to take control of their lives in their final stages, he said, weeks after his win.

Despite refusing to endorse it as Labor policy, the WA government has been encouraging the Labor agriculture minister, Alannah MacTiernan, to introduce reform as a private members bill, along with the Greens MLC Robin Chapple.

Chapple said in March that they were waiting on the outcome of Victorias inquiry before progressing.

The premier, Mark McGowan, has also previously spoken in favour of euthanasia laws and it is likely a conscience vote would be allowed.

In November last year, South Australias bill to legalise euthanasia was dramatically defeated by the Speakers casting vote despite support from both the premier, Jay Weatherill, and the opposition leader, Steven Marshall.

Both leaders voted in favour of the Death With Dignity Bill, with Weatherill saying he was gutted by the outcome and the bills original mover, Duncan McFetridge, vowing to continue pushing the issue.

The November vote was the parliaments 15th attempt at the bill and the first time any euthanasia legislation had made it past a second reading vote.

However, after a conscience vote, a 23-23 tie had to be broken by Speaker Michael Atkinson in the early hours of the morning.

Atkinson then told ABC radio that if the bill had been considered during daylight hours ... over several days, it may have been carried.

Similar to the NSW bill, the proposed law would only affect those suffering from terminal illness with unbearable pain and would require the affirmation of two doctors.

Go Gentle Australia nevertheless called it an historic moment for advocates of legalised euthanasia in Australia.

The voluntary assisted dying bill 2016 is tabled to be debated in the Tasmanian lower house on 24 May.

Moved on 17 November 2016 by former Labor premier Lara Giddings, and supported by Cassy OConnor, leader of the Tasmanian Greens, it follows a bill in 2013 that was defeated at the second reading stage by only 2 votes.

The bill only applies to patients with a serious incurable and irreversible medical condition. It also requires the approval of two doctors and would create an office of an independent registrar with powers to monitor and review all asssisted deaths.

Chances of the new bills success have not been publicly discussed, but Dying with Dignity Tasmania noted that the make-up of parliament has changed since the last vote, with two new Labor, five new Liberal and two new Greens MPs.

Queensland is the only state to never have had a voluntary euthanasia bill introduced to its parliament.

Queensland speaker Peter Wellington called for a parliamentary inquiry into voluntary euthanasia last year following the Victorian announcement, but the Queensland parliamentary health committee declined to initiate one.

In 2013, a parliamentary inquiry was held into palliative and community care, but it did not cover issues of euthanasia or assisted death.

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Assisted dying: states rally as bills offer chance to legalise voluntary euthanasia - The Guardian