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Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017

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Voluntary Assisted Dying
Parliament of Victoria
  • Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017
Citation61/2017
Passed byParliament of Victoria
Passed29 November 2017
Royal assent5 December 2017[1]
Commenced19 June 2019
Legislative history
Bill titleVoluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 [2]
Introduced byHon. Jill Hennessy MP
First reading20 September 2017
Second reading18 October 2017
Third reading20 October 2017
Member(s) in chargeHon. Gavin Jennings MLC
First reading20 October 2017
Second reading3 November 2017
Third reading22 November 2017
Summary
To provide for and regulate access to voluntary assisted dying
Keywords
Euthanasia, Right to die
Status: Current legislation

On 29 November 2017, Victoria became the first Australian state to pass legislation allowing assisted suicide. The law gives anyone suffering a terminal illness, with less than six months to live, the right to end their life. The law had an 18-month implementation period, and came into effect on 19 June 2019.[4]

The Bill

On 20 September 2017, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 was introduced into the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament by the Andrews Labor Government. The bill is modelled on the recommendations of an expert panel chaired by former Australian Medical Association president Professor Brian Owler. The proposed legislation was said by proponents to be the most conservative in the world; it contains 68 safeguards including measures designed to protect vulnerable people from coercion and abuse, as well as a Review Board to promote compliance.[5][6] Labor and Coalition MPs were allowed a conscience vote on the Bill.[7][8]

The bill was debated in the lower house over three sitting days, passing the assembly without amendment on 20 October 2017 after an emotional and tense debate[9] which lasted more than 24 hours.[10] The bill was passed by 47 votes to 37.[11] The bill moved to the Legislative Council for debate.

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating spoke out against the passing of the bill to the upper house saying "the passage of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill through the Victorian lower house is truly a sad moment for the whole country."[12]

The Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, who is also against euthanasia, said:

It is the Victorian parliament's job to do this, I'm not a supporter of euthanasia but I have been following the debate and it would be very interesting to see if their upper house passes it and what follows on from it. ... Federal law prevails over a state law but only in an area that both the Commonwealth and the state parliament have jurisdiction, so you've got to begin with an area where the federal parliament has jurisdiction.[13]

On 14 November 2017, the government agreed to a series of amendments designed to garner further support for the bill in the council. For terminally ill adults in severe pain and with only 12 months to live, the deadline to access lethal drugs was cut to six months, except for sufferers of neurodegenerative conditions such as motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. Additionally, an amendment restricting this scheme to people who have lived in Victoria for 12 months was accepted, as was a requirement for a death to be documented as assisted dying, in addition to noting the underlying disease. Funding for palliative care in regional areas was also increased as part of the agreement.[14] On 22 November 2017, the bill in its amended form passed the council by 22 votes to 18, after a marathon sitting lasting more than 28 hours.[15]

The bill returned to the Legislative Assembly for consideration of the council's amendments. The Assembly approved of the council's amendments on 29 November 2017. In passing the legislation, Victoria became the first state to legalise assisted suicide. The law received royal assent on 5 December 2017, and came into effect on 19 June 2019.[16][17] The 18-month period allowed for implementation of the scheme including establishment of a review board.

Reactions

Kathy Eagar, the executive director of the Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration, and director of the Australian Health Services Research Institute at the University of Wollongong, has analysed the statistics surrounding euthanasia internationally, and says the law is limited. According to Eagar, the most important reason people choose euthanasia is that they don't want to lose their independence and autonomy. She believes euthanasia is a social issue and not a health issue, and maintains that less than one in five people choose euthanasia due to pain.[18]

They've been very careful and very cautious in the approach, but a lot of the people who've been very strong advocates for euthanasia are not people with a life expectancy of less than 12 months. They are people living with debilitating conditions for many, many years and they won't be eligible for voluntary assisted dying under the legislation... "The conversation about, 'I am doing this because I want to make existential choices about the end of my life', that's a much harder conversation to have as a community, but it is the one we need."[18]

— Kathy Eagar

Lorraine Baker, the Victorian President of the Australian Medical Association, said that the passing of the legislation marked a "significant shift" in medical practice in Victoria, but the conscientious objection provisions contained in the legislation would ensure that doctors would not be forced into taking part in voluntary assisted dying.[19]

The outcome of this parliamentary vote will cause anguish for some members of our profession, as well as the public...(doctors should not be involved in) interventions that have as their primary intention the ending of a person's life

— Lorraine Baker, The Age newspaper 22 November 2017[19]

Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke called the law "beg and grovel legislation" because people will only be able to access it as a privilege granted in extremis rather than as a right to be accessed at a time nominated by the patient.[20]

First use

Kerry Robertson was the first person to be granted a permit under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act. Robertson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and was declared cancer free after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Four years later she developed a tumour in her in bones, that spread to her lungs and brain. When the cancer spread to her liver Robertson ceased treatment. Her palliative care team was unable to ease the pain. Robertson applied for the permit on the first day the act came into force, 19 June 2019, citing "loss of joy" as her reason. Robertson ended her life on 15 July 2019 at the age of 61 with her two daughters, and best friend by her side.[21]

See also

External videos
video icon Fact check: Has assisted dying been a legal slippery slope overseas?[22]

References

  1. ^ "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017". legislation.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017" (PDF). legislation.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. ^ "VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING BILL 2017 (Amendments made by the Legislative Council)" (PDF). legislation.vic.gov.au. 22 November 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Voluntary Assisted Dying". Health.vic.
  5. ^ Edwards, Jean (19 September 2017). "Victoria's assisted dying bill to hit Parliament, to be voted on by end of year". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Voluntary Assisted dying Act 61/2017, Section 93".
  7. ^ "Premier's Department Historic Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill Now In Parliament". premier.vic.gov.au. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  8. ^ Johnston, Matt; Hore, Monique (20 September 2017). "Assisted dying Bill before parliament includes safeguards to prevent encouraging euthanasia". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  9. ^ Johnsoton, Matt; Alison, Genevieve (20 October 2017). "Voluntary euthanasia laws pass lower house in marathon session". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Historic euthanasia laws pass Victoria's lower house after marathon sitting". The Age. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Euthanasia: Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passes Victoria's Lower House after 26-hour debate". ABC News. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  12. ^ Kenny, Mark (20 October 2017). "Victoria has just voted to remove its most basic human right: Paul Keating". smh.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  13. ^ Hutchinson, Samantha; Brown, Greg (20 October 2017). "Euthanasia bill passes Victorian parliament". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Euthanasia: Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill likely to pass with amendments". ABC News. 14 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Voluntary assisted dying bill passes Victoria's Upper House, state set to make history". ABC News. 22 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Euthanasia: Victoria becomes the first Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying". ABC News. 29 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017" (PDF). legislation.vic.gov.au. 5 December 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  18. ^ a b Jackson, Elizabeth (2 December 2017). "Euthanasia: It's not just about unbearable pain, it's about self determination, expert says". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  19. ^ a b Preiss, Benjamin (22 November 2017). "Historic euthanasia laws pass Victorian upper house". theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  20. ^ Manch, Thomas (8 November 2018). "Euthanasia pioneer warns of 'beg and grovel' legislation". Stuff.nz.co. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  21. ^ Cunningham, Melissa (4 August 2019). "She left with courage and grace': Daughters farewell Victoria's first person to access assisted dying". theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Fact check: Has assisted dying been a legal slippery slope overseas?". abc.net.au. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.

Further reading

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