Voluntary euthanasia set to become law in Queensland this week – Brisbane Times

Queensland is set this week to become the fifth state in the country to legalise voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill patients.

The journey to change the law has been long, including a year-long parliamentary inquiry in 2019, referral to the Queensland Law Reform Commission, and the introduction of a bill in May to meet a Labor election pledge.

If the voluntary euthanasia laws pass, they are expected to come into effect in January 2023.Credit:JasonSouth

A parliamentary committee last month recommended the bill pass, although LNP MP Mark Robinson, a devout Christian, said it should not pass, or if it did, should be amended to allow health practitioners who conscientiously object to also refuse to refer patients to someone who would provide the service.

Under the proposed bill, which will be debated in Parliament this week, Queensland adults must have been diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced, progressive, will cause death within 12 months, and is causing intolerable suffering.

The person must be assessed by two doctors, make three separate requests, and they can change their mind at any time.

Private hospitals and residential aged care facilities run by religious organisations will have the right to conscientiously object and choose not to provide euthanasia, but they must not hinder a persons access to it.

But opponents, such as Catholic Health Australia, do not want to be forced to allow euthanasia on their premises, and they have raised concerns that people would not need to see a specialist doctor before ending their own lives.

St Vincents Health Australia, which runs three hospitals in Queensland, was also pushing for amendments, including preventing VAD-approved doctors and nurses from entering hospitals unannounced to assist patients with euthanasia.

On the other hand, a survey of Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union members in February found almost 87 per cent supported voluntary assisted dying, while YouGov polling from last year, commissioned by the Clem Jones Trust, found 77 per cent of Queenslanders were in favour.

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Voluntary euthanasia set to become law in Queensland this week - Brisbane Times