Category Archives: Euthanasia

A euthanasia advocate could face 14 years' jail after today being charged with assisting someone's suicide, in addition to two previous charges.

Wellington District Court Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

Susan Austen, 66, was today accused of helping 77-year-old Annemarie Treadwell commit suicide between December 2015 and June 2016.

In October she was charged with two counts of importing the sedative narcotic pentobarbitane, also known as Nembutol, which is a class C drug.

Speaking in the Wellington District Court today, her lawyer, Dr Donald Stevens QC, requested the charges be adjourned until 12 May, when she would enter a plea to all three.

She was remanded on bail until then.

Ms Austen is the former chairperson of the Wellington branch of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.

The case arose after the police used a breath-testing checkpoint to target voluntary euthanasia supporters as they left an Exit International meeting in Lower Hutt in late October 2016.

The legality of the checkpoint was being investigated by the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Assisting suicide carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

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Euthanasia advocate charged with assisting suicide - Radio New Zealand

Lower Hutt teacher Susan Dale Austen has been charged with helping someone take their own life.

In October the 65-year-oldwas charged with two counts of importing pentobarbitone - a Class C drug commonly used for euthanasia - between 2012 and 2016.

The more serious charge of aiding a person to commit suicide was added when Austen appeared briefly in the Wellington District Court this morning.

Police allege the incident happened between December 2015 and mid-2016 in Wellington. The maximum jail sentence for that charge is 14 years.

Austen's lawyer, Donald Steven, told the court his client intends to enter a plea on all three charges when she next appears in court on the morning of May 12.

He made no comment outside court.

Austen's supporters rallied outside court with placards before packing out the public gallery during her appearance.

She was remanded on bail until her May 12 court appearance.

Austen is thecoordinator of pro-euthanasia group Exit Wellington.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, call: Lifeline on 0800 543 354 Suicide Prevention Helpline on 0508 828 865 Youthline on 0800 376 633, text 234 between 8am and midnight or emailtalk@youthline.co.nz 0800 WHATSUP (9428787) children's helpline between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and 3pm to 10pm on weekends; online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm each day on the whatsup website. Kidsline 24/7 on 0800 543 754 for children aged five to 18. A Kidsline buddy will be available between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays.

Continued here:

Teacher faces new euthanasia drug charge - Newshub

20 Apr 2017, 8 a.m.

For those tasked with enacting laws for the common good, the euthanasia door should remain firmly shut.

Legislators must hear the voice of the voiceless in the Euthanasia debate.

Those who support legalising euthanasia argue for personal choice and autonomy. Legislators, however, make decisions based on what is good for the whole community herein lies a problem.

If it were possible to romanticise death I would envisage it as a large loving family gathered around the bed of a dearly-loved well-advanced-in-years great grandma or pa. With final hugs given and loving words spoken this cherished soul passes gently into the next life.

Some have been fortunate enough to experience this scenario.

Those in support of euthanasia compassionately want many more to experience this but they promote human intervention (through the use of an injected or ingested lethal dose) to determine the timing.

No one wants to see loved ones experience unnecessary suffering.

But families are rarely perfect. At times there is inconvenience, bitterness, hidden agendas and unseen pressures on the dying to relieve the family of unnecessary burdens and worry.

Doesnt happen? Think again.

Elder abuse is a very real problem affecting an estimated 3000-4500 Tasmanians at any one time. There is likely significant under-reporting after all, who would want to dob-in their own family or friends?

On average the Tasmanian Elder Abuse Hotline receives 20 calls a month. About half of the callers are advised to contact the police because of the serious nature of their abuse. About half all abuse, which includes emotional, physical, financial, social, sexual and neglect, is perpetuated by family members.

If family members can stoop so low as to abuse their weak and vulnerable loved ones then it doesnt take much imagination to see how euthanasia laws could be exploited in a way that would be undetectable even with all the supposed safeguards.

What might appear voluntary could in fact be quite the opposite.

This potential is at the heart of the euthanasia debate. It is why time and again Australian state governments have chosen not to cross this sacred line. Human autonomy should never outweigh social responsibility to protect the vulnerable.

One of the most thorough cross-party inquiries conducted on the issue occurred in Tasmania back in 1998.

Four of the five committee members began the inquiry supportive of euthanasia. After hearing the evidence and arguments for and against, five out of five were opposed.

Their conclusions are timeless and inescapable.

A key one was: whilst individual cases may present a strong case for reform the obligation of the state to protect the right to life of all individuals equally could not be delivered by legislation that is based on subjective principles.

We now also know from overseas jurisdictions that have legalised euthanasia subjective principles (aka safeguards) dont hold firm for long.

An ever-expanding circle of eligibility for euthanasia has occurred in places like Belgium and Holland, which now includes those with disabilities, mental health issues, addictions and those simply tired of living.

A 2015 Belgium report showed nearly half of euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region were not reported even though the law requires it. In the same region in 2013 it is estimated that over 1000 people had their deaths hastened without their request.

Exercising ones right to die can also put unfair burdens on doctors (around half of whom, in one Dutch survey, felt pressured by their patients or relatives to endorse euthanasia).

Public opinion and personal experiences are important. Yet for those tasked with enacting laws for the common good, the euthanasia door should remain firmly shut.

As the then Attorney-General Brian Wightman articulated in the 2013 Tasmanian debate: It is my considered view that there is not a politician who could come into this House and say that the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2013 protects all vulnerable people in all situations.

I believe this is true of any bill on this issue, there is no safe euthanasia.

Rejecting euthanasia takes principled fortitude from politicians especially when the stories of suffering and pain are very real and at times personal. The challenge for them is to ensure they also listen carefully for the voices of the voiceless, those whose interests they also represent but from whom they will most likely never hear.

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Legislators must hear the voice of the voiceless in the Euthanasia debate. - Tasmania Examiner

I'm still angry. That my mother died by suicide. Left me, abandoned me, when she was elderly and I was in the thick of drowning in busy-ness as a middle-aged working mum -- desperately trying to keep all the balls, somehow, in the air; and feeling like I was failing at everything.

My life in a nutshell a few years back: Four young kids. A full-on job as a novelist and columnist. A husband. A dog. And an elderly mum with chronic pain. Something had to give. And with my beautiful mother, Elayn Gemmell, it often felt like she came sixth in this very crammed life. Which shouldn't have been the case.

Elayn had had painful feet for years, after a childhood of ballet classes and decades of wearing the most fashionable high heels. It all came back to haunt her in her seventies. A year before she died she had an operation to fix her foot agony. It made the situation worse, much worse.

Chronic pain vined its way through Elayn's body, up into her groin and hips and lower back. By the end of her life my mother was curled like a comma around a walking stick and unable to drive -- she had lost her independence. She was facing a future of pain, stuck in her flat and relying on all the madly busy people around her with their crazy-busy lives. She was terrified of ending up in a nursing home. Of losing control of her life.

Mum investigated the world of euthanasia. Found a community who listened to her within Dr Philip Nitschke's Exit International organisation. Found older people, like herself, who she could have calm, rational conversations with about ending her life in a peaceful and dignified way. She wanted a mature, empowered, non-messy, serene death. A death of control.

So Elayn did it by the book. In fact, she had Dr Nitschke's manual for serene dying, The Peaceful Pills Handbook, beside her as she methodically carried out the deed. She did not involve any of her three adult children in her euthanasia plans because she had done her research. If we were implicated in her dying we could have faced police investigations, fines and possible jail terms.

It was an utterly bleak and despairing and lonely death. Mum saw no way clear of her constant tormenter and bully -- overwhelming chronic pain -- and did not investigate any way to fight it besides taking pain killers. Opioids. To which she rapidly became addicted, and began doctor shopping to get. Their effectiveness wore off the more she took, demotivated her, and triggered depression.

If the euthanasia laws had been different in this country, Mum could have begun a conversation with professionals. They would have pointed her to different methods of chronic pain control. They would have given her peace of mind that people were listening to her euthanasia wishes. My mother could have passed away surrounded by her family, in a room brimming with love and gratitude for an extraordinary life.

Yet it was nothing like that. She found it too hard to have the difficult conversation with her kids; to explain that she was going to euthanise herself. And by doing what she did in utter secrecy, she broke her family. I can hardly even bring myself to say "suicide". The word implies irrationality, mental fragility; as opposed to euthanasia, which implies a deeply considered, mature and rational death.

Elayn left no note, no explanation. Hence the feeling of anger and abandonment. I wrote a book to try investigate what she had done; to understand. It's also about mothers and daughters and the tricky relationships they can have.

Elayn knew my Achilles heel and went for it, often. No one could crush me like she could. Her judgement felt at times like a blanket smothering my life. I could never live up to her expectations of the perfect daughter. Birthdays would pass without her contacting me because of some long forgotten slight; she deployed the weapon of silence and withholding to maximum effect. She felled me, often.

The manner of Elayn's death reflected how she lived her life. By withdrawing, and retreating, and withholding. I asked many people afterwards if how she had died was an act empowerment or despair.

Many older respondents proclaimed it an act of great courage and enlightenment. Elayn was a fervent supporter of euthanasia and followed through on her interest in the world of Dr Philip Nitschke. She always wanted control over her own destiny. Of how she lived her life -- and how she ended it. Yet that blazing willfulness over her suicide will stain me for the rest of my life. I will never, completely, recover. My children were deeply affected too and it's hard to forgive my mum for scarring them also; they adored her.

Through all the applause for Elayn's actions came a note from a younger woman who had tried to commit suicide. She had suffered crippling post-natal depression after the birth of her child. She took an overdose of pills and was found by her husband. The woman was furious at him.

She told me that for the suicidal person, they just want the pain to end. That's all. They're not thinking of the repercussions for those around them, of how it will affect their loved ones' lives; they're just thinking of themselves. Of having their overwhelming, bullying, tormenting pain stopped.

That, I suspect, is closer to any other truth with my mother.

___________ Nikki Gemmell wrote about her mother's suicide, and the complicated mother/daughter relationship, in her memoir After, which is published by Harper Collins.

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA

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If Euthanasia Had Been Legal In This Country My Mother's Suicide Could Have Been Avoided - Huffington Post Australia

Regina Leader-Post

Right or wrong, Latimer's actions touched off national debate on euthanasia Regina Leader-Post In future debates on euthanasia, it's inevitable Latimer's name will figure prominently. As we celebrate Canada's 150th birthday in 2017, the Leader-Post and StarPhoenix are telling the stories of 150 Saskatchewan people who helped shape the nation.

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Right or wrong, Latimer's actions touched off national debate on euthanasia - Regina Leader-Post

An Iraq War veteran's dogs were taken off death row Monday after a Michigan judge ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the canines had killed three goats in July 2016.

The pit bull mixes, named Mario and Luigi, were released from anIonia County animal shelter Tuesday morning, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The judge ruled that there were "too many unanswered questions" to prove the dogs killed the goats.

Owner Allen Hustin, who is an Iraq War veteran, was not at Monday's hearing. His mother-in-law, Susan Owen Vamvakias, called Hustin after the ruling.

On July 8, Mario, Luigi, and another dog escaped from their backyard and were later discovered in a pen with three dead goats, the Detroit Free Press reported. A dead cat was also found nearby.

The owner of the goats and cat accused the dogs of killing the animals.

The judge initially ordered the dogs to be euthanized. The third dog, named Major, disappeared from the shelter that fall and was never found, according to the Free Press.

The judge granted a second trail in March after Hustin's attorneys said there was evidence that the dogs killed the animals.

Three veterinary experts testified and said they examined the dogs and found no blood or blood stains on them. Another witness said the dogs were seen running in a different area before they were found in the goat pen, The Free Press reported.

Vamvakias also testified and said Hustin depended on the dogs for comfort, adding that they "helped him to be more normal."

Hustin served two tours of duty in Iraq and received a Purple Heart for injuries suffered during a military conflict. A veterans group recommended Hustin get the two dogs to help him deal with depression and trauma.

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Iraq War veteran's dog saved from euthanasia by Michigan court - Fox News

Another dog-food company is recalling two varieties of 12-ounce cans of food manufactured and distributed in 2015 because a euthanasia drug was found in the product.

Another dog-food company is recalling two varieties of 12-ounce cans of food manufactured and distributed in 2015 because a euthanasia drug was found in the product. The barbiturate, pentobarbital, is used to euthanize animals as well as in human executions and physician-assisted suicides.

Party Animal, of West Hollywood, California, announced Tuesday that it has recalled Cocolicious Beef and Turkey, Lot #0136E15204 04, Best By Date: July 2019; and Cocolicious Chicken and Beef, Lot #0134E15 237 13, Best By Date: August 2019, because both tested positive for the drug.

This recall comes several months after Evangers Dog and Cat Food recalled some lots of Evangers and Against the Grain dog foods over the issue.

Consumers with questions may contact the company by phone at 855-727-8926 or by email at info@partyanimalpetfood.com.

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More canned dog food recalled over euthanasia drug - Seattle Times

By Michael W. Fox By Michael W. Fox April 18 at 7:46 PM

Dear Dr. Fox:

I believe that most neutered cats belong in pairs. I have had nine Siamese cats, mostly in pairs. The surviving member of my penultimate pair grieved deeply and hid from me for about five months.

When she stopped hiding, she was a changed kitty. When she passed, I acquired a pair of littermates who never spent a night apart and were my best friends for 20 years. I did not want the surviving partner to go through what the last one had. I spent many hours thinking about their eventual demise.

At 19 years old, I knew, that, statistically, it would be soon. One evening, we returned home from dinner to find that our beloved male, Oedipus, could not move his back legs. He had jumped from a chair excited to eat three hours earlier. I knew time was short, so I scheduled euthanasia for the next day. I took both cats to the vet.

In the vets office, I placed Oedipus on the table and let his sister, Phaedra, out of the cage to join him. She jumped up with him and inspected him thoroughly. When she lost interest, I put her back into her cage.

After the vet euthanized Oedipus, and we were sure he was gone, I let Phaedra out of the cage to be with him again. She checked him out thoroughly and eventually lost interest again. I put her back in her cage, and we departed.

Her grieving process was very short. She looked everywhere in the house, and then adopted his position as primary lap cat. The difference in the grieving process with Phaedra seeing that Oedipus was gone was remarkable. I know in my heart that her being able to know he was dead and not suddenly just gone helped her.

I recommend allowing surviving pets to see the deceased, acknowledge the change in being and grieve gently, instead of fretting about the disappearance and fearing the same thing will happen to them.

I hope this information helps others with the future loss of their pets.

A.A.R., Naples, Fla.

DF: Your observations and suggestions are important for all cat owners to consider, beginning with adding another cat to the home if you have only one. The essential steps to take to introduce a new cat are posted on my website, drfoxvet.net.

I have also posted a long review on how animals grieve the loss of a loved one, human or fellow animal. As you note, some show little grief but might well benefit from having the opportunity to examine the deceased. Some cats will yowl loudly day and night after experiencing such loss, but others, like many people, seem to take it in stride.

In my experience, cats will search the house more frequently when the companion animal is missing (for instance, at the vets office) than after they have been able to see the body of the deceased before its removal from the home.

Dear Dr. Fox:

It became apparent that it was time to put down my 17-year-old cat New Years Eve. Not able to stand Kittens pain, I called around and found a vet who was willing to come to my home New Years Day.

He claimed a shot right into Kittens stomach was the best thing to do. After the injection, my family and I petted him for several minutes as he died. During this time, Kitten opened his eyes fearfully and gasped for air and then was gone. It didnt seem like a particularly painless way to go.

I would like your opinion on the least painful method of putting a cat or dog to sleep. I have other animals that will one day need to be put down.

S.S., Herndon, Va.

DF: I regret that you and your cat went through this experience, because this is not the best or usual way to euthanize a cat or dog.

Injecting the euthanasia solution into the abdominal cavity should be done only when a vein cannot be successfully injected, which usually ensures a smooth and quick unconsciousness and death from cardiac arrest. The abdominal injection process is slower, and the animal might struggle and gasp for air repeatedly.

When a limb or neck vein cannot be successfully injected, the best euthanasia protocol is to first give an injection of a strong sedative into the thigh muscle. This two-step procedure is the best way to help ensure a humane death. The next time around, request that the veterinarian who comes to your home follow this protocol.

Dear Dr. Fox:

We have a cocker spaniel who is quite active. When he was 3, he tore the ACL in his right leg. We opted for surgery, although I was a pastor, and money was tight.

We paid on the installment plan, and it was about $3,500 total. He wasnt overweight, but our surgeon insisted he still lose weight and take a short course of meds. Of course, he tore the ACL in his other leg a year later. Same price. We followed the surgeons orders regarding running and jumping, and he wore an Elizabethan collar to keep him from going after the sutures.

He is now 9. The only medication he takes is Dasuquin, which we get by mail order. Hes kept the weight off and has had no further problems, happily.

I love to watch him run. He is walked daily, except when its icy. He is pain-free. He can jump up without any problems.

Many people thought we should have had him put down. Im so happy we didnt. When I lived in the District, we went to a great clinic that accepted payments on the installment plan. It was worth every penny.

S.M., Crownsville, Md.

DF: Thanks for confirming the benefits of corrective surgery for this common canine problem, along with documentation of the expense and the accommodating payment plan your veterinarian set up with you.

Your dog was young and not a heavy-bodied breed; older dogs are poor candidates for this kind of surgery. Still, losing some weight was important. This is one factor that makes dogs prone to tearing their cruciate ligaments, as is a lack of regular exercise and sudden activity after a long winter indoors. I advise people to keep their dogs from being too active when they get outdoors and are still in poor physical condition.

Dear Dr. Fox:

My elderly father lives in a two-story house. He has recently become disabled, and he might have to live in the downstairs area only. There is one small bathroom on that floor.

The problem is that we currently use that bathroom for his cats litter box. Also, this 14-year-old cat uses the entire bathroom to eliminate, frequently going on the floor and foregoing the litter box, even when its clean. The cat has been doing this for years, and we cannot seem to break him of these undesirable toilet habits.

Because this is the only bathroom that my father will be able to use, we have to find a new location for the cats litter box. My father and his nursing aides will not possibly be able to share this bathroom with a cat who makes a daily disaster out of it.

Whats the best way to acclimate a cat to a new litter box location, and how do we get him to use it 100 percent of the time? Otherwise, were going to have to find a new home for this cat; I am unable to take him.

R.A., Newark, N.J.

DF: This is a challenge for an older cat! Your best hope is to buy a large wire dog crate, 4-by-5 feet or larger, and put the cat inside in the new room, along with a bed, food, water and a litter box.

Clean up the bathroom with Natures Miracle enzyme cleaner. Let the cat out, supervised, as often as possible for play and grooming, but never allow him back into the bathroom. The cat should adapt quickly to using the litter box in the confines of the cage, which can eventually be left open so the cat can come and go freely, or it can be kept most of the time in the closed room, with as much human company as possible, and let out and closely monitored at other times.

Correction

In an earlier column concerning a dogs fear of being in a car, I suggested a veterinary prescription of Xanax (alprazolam). However, I included an incorrect dosage: Rather than giving the dog 0.5grams, I recommend giving 0.5milligrams. I also want to add that you should never treat a pet with your own medications.

Michael W. Fox, author of a newsletter and books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Send letters to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

2017 United Feature Syndicate

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The ethical responsibilities of euthanasia - Washington Post

Euthanasia/assisted suicide is NOT about terminal illness. The issue is about normalizing killing as a response to human suffering.

Sure, the initial sales pitch would restrict doctor-administered or prescribed death to the dying. But thats just to get people comfortable with the concept. Once a society accepts the principle, logic quickly takes it to a broad euthanasia license.

Canada is a prime example. Before the Supreme Court imposed a national euthanasia right on the country, the debate was all about terminal illness. But now that euthanasia is the law throughout the country,the push is on to allow doctors to kill the mentally ill who ask to die.

The Globe and Mails pro-euthanasia health columnist, Andr Picard Andr Picard uses the suicide of a mentally ill person to push that agenda. From, The Mentally Ill Must Be Part of the Assisted Suicide Debate:

We should not discriminate or deny people rights because it makes us queasy or because of our prejudices. This case reminds us just how severe mental illness can be. Non-existence is better than this, Mr. Maier-Clayton said. Once theres no quality of life, life is akin to a meaningless existence.

Opponents of assisted death argue that those who suffer from mental illness cannot make rational decisions, that they need to be protected from themselves.

But were not talking about granting assisted death to someone who is delusional, or suffering from psychosis or someone who is depressed and treatable. The suffering has to be persistent and painful, though not necessarily imminently lethal.

I would hasten to add, as defined by the suicidal person and regardless of ameliorating treatments that could be administered.But anyone who is suicidal believes his or her suffering is unbearable. Otherwise, they wouldnt want to die.

This ever-broadening death license is only logical. If killing is indeed an acceptable answer to suffering, how can it bestrictly limited to people diagnosed with a terminal illness?After all, many people suffer far more severely and for a far longer time than the imminently dying.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and now Canada, demonstrate that over time, it wont be.

Meanwhile, California has a regulation requiring state mental hospitals to cooperate with assisted suicide for their involuntarily committed patients with terminal illnessesdespite supposed protections in the law for those with mental conditions that could affect their decisions.

Meant to be compassionate, assisted suicide isactuallyabandonment most foul. Compassion means to suffer with. Euthanasia is about eliminating suffering by eliminating the sufferer.

Or, to put it another way, euthanasia endorses suicide. Its not choice, it is the end of all choices.

In any event, this is the debate we should be having. Whether one agrees or disagrees with my take, surely as we in the USA should debate the issue withintellectual integrity andhonesty.

But we wont because pro-euthanasia forces know they would lose. The obfuscating claim that assisted suicide will only be about the terminally ill for whom nothing else but death can eliminate suffering is just the spoonful of honey to help the hemlock go down.

Read this article:

Canada Push To Allow Mentally Ill Euthanasia - National Review

The Twittersphere went into meltdown on Monday night after a spat on ABCs Q&A between bioethics professor Margaret Somerville and 81-year-old audience member Patricia Fellows.

Somerville defended, at some length, her opposition to euthanasia. Fellows responded to Somervilles academic exposition with one word: bullshit!.

For many this was the highlight of the episode. Yet I was more intrigued to see Tony Jones suspicion of Somervilles so-called slippery slope argument against legalising assisted dying. As Somerville discussed the steady liberalisation of euthanasia laws in the Netherlands, Jones himself called bullshit (albeit in a more intellectual sophisticated way).

Are you making a slippery slope argument Margo?, he interjected.

The background to the sort of question Jones asked, and widespread community suspicion of arguments about so-called euthanasia creep, is that these sorts of claims rely on what in ethics and philosophy we call the slippery slope fallacy.

They assume that event A will necessarily be followed by event B, even when there is no demonstrated causal or probable relationship between event A and B. As philosophers are at pains to point out, there is a need for empirical evidence or sound inferential reasoning to support the claim that event B will necessarily (or probably) follow on from event A.

Without this evidence, the argument is invalid. I cant just claim, for example, that the legalisation of medicinal marijuana leads to the legalisation of ice - I need to show some empirical or logical connection between the two.

But (and its a big but) there is such a thing as a good and valid slippery slope argument. A good slippery slope argument demonstrates a causal or probable relationship between event A and B, such that event B can legitimately be expected to occur if event A is allowed to occur.

Bad slippery slope claims

In the context of the euthanasia debate, it is in the interest of intellectual honesty as well as prudent policy deliberation that we clearly distinguish good slippery slope claims from the bad ones.

There is certainly no shortage of dubious slippery slope arguments. Examples are the apocalyptic warnings of Nazi-Germany style euthanasia if we legalise assisted dying.

In last years euthanasia debate in South Australia, for example, Liberal MP Adrian Pederick made precisely this comparison when he said:

This is the sort of thing that was done in the 40s in Nazi Germany [] I just feel that comments like that lead us down a slippery slope.

As it stands, this is an invalid slippery slope argument. What Pederick didnt show, and needs to show, is some sort of causal or logical relationship between a concern for the allocation of scarce health care resources and the mass, involuntary killing of tens of thousands of disabled, sick and elderly members of the community.

Maybe evidence can be provided, but the claim is not self-evident, as his comment seems to suggest.

Valid slippery slope claims

There are, nevertheless, compelling empirical and logical slippery slope arguments available to defend more modest claims about the normalisation of assisted dying.

Critics of assisted dying often argue euthanasia rates will increase with each year following legalisation. For example, in the Victorian Parliaments Inquiry into End of Life Choices, Daniel Mulino MLC warned of a progressive increase in assisted dying if it were legalised in Victoria:

once legalised, euthanasia and assisted suicide are increasingly taken for granted and seen to be unexceptional both within the medical profession and more broadly within society.

There is significant evidence from the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), as well as the US and Canada, to support this claim. Around 3.7% of all deaths in the Netherlands in 2015 were by virtue of euthanasia or assisted suicide, up from 1.3% when the procedure was legalised in 2002.

And while Dutch legislation changed several times during that period, the steady rate of increase continued even in years when there was no legislative change. Similar figures are available in Belgium, and alarming initial figures have just been released for Quebec.

It is true Australian legislatures may adopt an Oregon model of assisted dying legislation, rather than a Benelux model.

Yet there has been a similar documented increase of assisted-suicide deaths in Oregon. In fact, the increase has actually been greater, from 16 deaths in 1998 to 132 in 2015.

All of which is to say, there is significant evidence to suggest that if we do legalise assisted dying in Australia jurisdictions, the practice will be normalised, and we will see a steady but significant increase in deaths by such means.

Lets not get emotional

It is true social dynamics are complex, and there are a variety of factors that could effect how euthanasia legislation is received in Australian society.

And claims about euthanasia creep dont constitute an argument against euthanasia as such. They are only claims about what might happen when we do legalise assisted dying. Indeed, some proponents of assisted dying might see normalisation as a positive development.

But by the same token, we shouldnt dismiss such arguments as manifestly false or logically invalid. No one profits from impolitic policy, and it would be a monumental blunder to ignore the experience of other countries in our deliberation on this issue.

So returning to the catalyst of this discussion, was Margaret Somervilles argument bullshit?

I dont think it would be fair to critique her views based solely on what was said on Mondays program. Q&A panellists rarely have the opportunity to discuss their views at length, and Monday nights episode was no exception.

But rather than offering a glib and emotional dismissal of the arguments, we need to review the hard facts about euthanasia creep and the social costs of assisted dying. Anything less than this would be, well, bullshit.Xavier Symons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Xavier Symons, Research Associate, University of Notre Dame Australia

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When it comes to euthanasia not all slippery slope arguments are bullshit - EconoTimes