By Michael Cook As of November 28, eligible people in New South Wales can request “voluntary assisted dying”. NSW was the last Australian state to legalize assisted suicide in May 2022. There was an 18-month implementation period. Two territories (which have a different status in the federation), the Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is located, and …
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By Michael Cook The Australian Capital Territory [ACT], where the nation’s capital Canberra is located, is a self-governing jurisdiction with about 460,000 people. It is considering “voluntary assisted dying” legislation which could be amongst the most liberal of its kind in the world. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the move as a “historic day” after …
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By Michael Cook The Australian Capital Territory [ACT], where the nation’s capital Canberra is located, is a self-governing jurisdiction with about 460,000 people. It is considering “voluntary assisted dying” legislation which could be amongst the most liberal of its kind in the world. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the move as a “historic day” after …
Continue reading "Another jurisdiction in Australia set to legalize ‘assisted dying’"
By Michael Cook A 62-year-old South Australian man chose euthanasia because he found navigating the bureaucracy for end-of-life care too complicated and stressful. Jim Mills was a railway worker living with a partner when he was diagnosed with a brain cancer. Initially he received funding from the NDIS, a national disability scheme. After a while, however, the …
Continue reading "South Australian chooses ‘assisted dying’ rather than living in a bureaucratic morass"
By Michael Cook Around the world, lobbyists for legalising physician-assisted suicide (PAS) use Oregon as an example of safe, successful, and carefully drafted legislation. Every year the state publishes what appears to be a comprehensive annual report. Nonetheless, the statistics are still foggy. It is impossible to verify them, since all source records are destroyed after …
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By Michael Cook At an earlier stage in the debate over assisted dying, a critic wrote that it was incompatible with a physician’s Hippocratic Oath. If the public wanted it, let it be lawyer-assisted dying rather than doctor-assisted dying. Perhaps activists have taken this advice to heart. An article in the BMJ argues that because there is …
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By Michael Cook Members of FEN have been charged several times with assisting suicides. The implication of these words by FEN’s president is that right-to-die activists will continue to work beyond the boundaries of legality, even in states where it is legal in certain circumstances. A common argument for the legalization of assisted suicide is …
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By Michael Cook Euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal in the Australian state of Victoria on Wednesday. A bill authorizing “assisted dying” was passed by the State Parliament in November 2017; it took 18 months to set up the regulatory and administrative framework. The first death under the law could occur in the next few …
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Today euthanasia and assisted suicide become legal in the Australian state of Victoria By Xavier Symons Victoria’s controversial Voluntary Assisted Dying Act comes into effect today after a marathon parliamentary battle in late 2017, followed by a year and a half of meticulous planning by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Under the …
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By Michael Cook In March, the UK’s Royal College of Physicians (RCP) changed its position on “assisted dying” from opposition to neutrality after conducting a poll of its members. Dissidents, however, have denounced this as a “sham” and now the Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the controversy. A Charity Commission officer told the …
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By Michael Cook Both Oregon, a model for assisted suicide legislation in the U.S. and elsewhere, and Belgium, where both assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal, released death statistics this past week. Oregon. In 2018, 249 people received prescriptions for lethal medications. According to data gathered as of January 22, 168 people died in 2018 …
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Allegations that the Royal College of Physicians has been hijacked By Michael Cook A controversial poll by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), in the UK, is expected to result in a change in its position on “assisted dying”. Polling ends on March 1 and the result will be announced later in the month. If …
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