Dying Badly – New Zealand Stories, compiled by retired intensive care specialist Dr Jack Havill and writer David Barber, contains relatives’ stories of bad deaths suffered by their loved ones, as submitted to the New Zealand Parliament’s inquiry into the issue of assisted dying for...
Jen Barnes is a Victorian nurse of 40 years, who has terminal brain cancer, and has just been told that the tumour has started to grow again. Jen and her husband Ken, like the vast majority of Australians, want a voluntary assisted dying law. Jen and...
Dr Ian McPhee, anaesthetist and clinical senior lecturer at Sydney Medical School, was diagnosed at age 59 with stage four Sezary syndrome, a rare form of cancer. He underwent several rounds of treatment, including a bone marrow transplant, and at one point suffered multiple organ...
Annie Gabrielides is 55 years old and has Motor Neurone Disease (MND). She wants the right to choose a peaceful death. Early in 2017, she was given a 12 month prognosis. Annie says she is terrified of an undignified, drawn out and painful death. Annie's MND...
Marieke Vervoot, a Belgian Paralympic athlete, won medals at the London and Rio Paralympics. She is now aged 38 and continues to suffer from an incurable spinal degenerative disease, which was diagnosed when she was 21. She has epileptic fits and is now paralysed, with unbearable pain....
Sue Jensen is 60 years old and has oesophageal cancer, which has spread to her lungs. With Voluntary Assisted Dying bills now in the Parliaments of Victoria and NSW, Sue Jensen spoke to ABC Lateline's Emily Stewart: "I'm putting my voice out there because there's three...
When Daniel Andrews was elected as Premier of Victoria in 2014 he was a devout Catholic, who was personally opposed to voluntary assisted dying, as was his Catholic deputy, James Merlino. A year and a half later, his beloved father, Bob Andrews died from cancer. On...
Gail Armstrong, aged 68, has breast cancer, which has metastasized into her bones and stopped responding to treatment. Gail told told The Newcastle Herald “I don’t want to die...
[caption id="attachment_10799" align="alignright" width="150"] Robin and Barbara Collins on their wedding day, 50 years before Robin's death.[/caption] On 27 February, 2014, Amanda Collins' father shot himself in the backyard of the family home, whilst her mother was in the kitchen. Robin Collins' body lay on a patch...
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 [Victoria] was prepared by Minister for Health Jill Hennessy and Attorney-General Martin Pakula. On 20 September 2017, Jill Hennessy spoke to Jon Faine on ABC Radio Melbourne about the details of the bill which would be presented to Parliament that day....