News

14 July, 2017

Palliative care and VAD are not mutually exclusive

Andrew Denton has written a piece for The Australian entitled 'The dying deserve a compassionate choice when palliative care fails'. Amongst many compelling points, Denton says "The late Clive Deverall, founder of Palliative Care WA, wrote about this last year...

13 July, 2017

Speak to your MP about VAD – Sydney forum

On Thursday 13 July, 2017 at 6pm - 7:30pm a forum was held in the NSW Parliament House Theatre to discuss the final draft of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill (draft 21!) which will be presented to the Upper House in the second sitting week...

13 July, 2017

Canada’s law, one year on

by Dr. David Amies In June 2016, the federal government of Canada passed its medical assistance in dying (MAID) bill, thereby allowing certain persons to obtain help from their doctors to end their lives. The new law disappointed many activists because it was seen as too restrictive, but in...

12 July, 2017

Stimulating community information session in Port Macquarie

On Tuesday 11 July, we held the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill community information and consultation session in Port Macquarie. The event was hosted by the 'NSW Parliamentary Working Group on Assisted Dying' in conjunction with Dying with Dignity Midnorth Coast NSW. The speaker was Trevor Khan,...

2 July, 2017

Church and States battle

There are non-religious people who are wary of introducing voluntary assisted dying laws, but the Catholic strain is obvious and contentious. It was the organisation and funding from the broad Catholic church – as well fierce opposition from the AMA and concern from some Indigenous groups...

2 July, 2017

Californian law operating well.

According to according to a report just released by the Californian Department of Public Health, 111 people in California took their own lives using lethal prescriptions during the first six months of a law that allows terminally ill people to request life-ending drugs from their...

28 June, 2017

AMA past president supports VAD

Photo of Professor Brian Owler thanks to SMH photo by Andrew Meares Neurosurgeon and the immediate past federal president of the AMA and a former head of the NSW body, Professor Brian Owler says it was the “terrible death” of his father that convinced him to...

28 June, 2017

Christian response to Rationalist plan

More Australians recorded "No religion" in the 2016 Census than any other individual religion or denomination. Surging from 22.3 percent in 2011 to 30.1 percent. “The lack of secular voices in the media perpetuates Christian privilege. Declining religiosity hasn't lessened the influence of the increasingly...

28 June, 2017

Somerville cherry-picks data

"There is a tremendous amount of misinformation put about by assisted dying opponents that generates unjustified fear, uncertainty and doubt. Professor Margaret Somerville acknowledges that she made a bold and unequivocal statement - about supposed general suicide contagion from assisted dying laws - that has...

25 June, 2017

Poll results: majority of doctors backing us!

About 60 per cent of doctors support the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill and fewer than 30 per cent oppose it, according to a survey by market research company Ekas emailed to a database of 4000 NSW doctors it deemed 'opinion leaders' and returned by about 500....

22 June, 2017

Dr Lancee: I stood up for what is right

by Dr Alida Lancee The lack of assisted dying legislation has been a huge problem in my care of my terminally ill patients for the past 20 years. The 1913 criminal code still in place today … leaves doctors, patients and their loved ones vulnerable and...