It may happen to any of us or to those we care for. An accident or illness may bring people to an extreme of pain, disability, distress or dependency, so that their lives become intolerable and there is no reasonable prospect of substantial improvement. Some people in such circumstances may wish for death and consider it cruel to be denied their release. Even if you yourself are spared such tragedies, as a humane person you would wish to help those who suffer in this way and whose torments are beyond endurance. You would want to do what you could to ensure that their wishes are respected.

The case for decriminalising voluntary euthanasia is based on three moral principles:

1. Respect for self-determination. It is axiomatic that in a free, democratic society individuals have a right to make their own decisions on matters that are primarily their own concern. The way one dies is such a matter. It is accepted that the right of personal decision-making should not be so exercised as to infringe, or deny, the same right to others, or to harm society. The question is not why voluntary euthanasia should be permitted but why it should be prohibited.
2. Concern for the quality of life. There is far more to the concept of life than a beating pulse, the drawing of breath, or the reaction of nerves to a stimulus. Life embraces self-awareness, the ability to communicate with others; to be alive is to have conscious identity, to be a person. When such attributes have gone, never to return, life is devoid of quality and of meaning. No one should be forced to endure, against his/her will, such an end to life by prolonging the dying. Similarly, a patient subject to severe and unremitting physical or mental suffering, should have the option of quick and painless relief, whether or not the condition is terminal.
3. Compassion for those who suffer. This principle is embodied in medical and nursing practice and in the Christian ethic; it is recognized as being among the primary virtues. Our concern is that compassion should not be denied to those who seek merciful release from a life which has become a meaningless burden and for whom there is no prospect of remission or cure.

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The charter for Dying with Dignity New South Wales is available here »...

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Dying with Dignity NSW supports the NSW Department of Health position on the writing of Advance Health Care Directives. DWDnsw encourages all our members to make an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD) whilst they are in reasonable health. It is a document that states your wishes or directions regarding your future health care for various medical conditions. It comes into effect only if you are unable to make your own decisions. This document CAN be coupled with the Appointment of an Enduring Guardian. This appointment is a legally- binding order that allows us to appoint the person of our choice to make decisions for us when we can no longer make them for ourselves. Click here for more information and the opportunity to download copies of these forms.

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1. All people have the fundamental right to die with dignity.
2. Voluntary euthanasia, which is a request for an assisted death, should be one of the choices available to competent adults who want to die with dignity.
3. People should be able to ask for voluntary euthanasia on the basis of having a terminal illness or of having a serious physical illness or condition which causes them unacceptable suffering or distress (that is, on the basis of having a quality of life which is unacceptable to them).
4. Any decision about how to die must be made on the basis of informed consent. People should be informed of their diagnosis, their prognosis, their options in responding to their condition and all other relevant information.
5. Informed consent without the means to act on one's choice is not sufficient. People should have access to the appropriate means, whether the choice is to continue therapeutic care, to withdraw from therapeutic care, for palliative care or voluntary euthanasia.
6. A request for euthanasia must be made freely, voluntarily and without duress and must be clearly expressed.
7. Only a doctor may prescribe the means to effect a death.
8. If a person needs physical assistance to end their lives i.e. they are unable to move their limbs, they should have the right to nominate whoever they choose to administer that assistance.
9. Any person requested to give assistance in a death by voluntary euthanasia has the right to refuse that assistance.
10. People who assist others to die, in good faith and in keeping with the expressed wish of those others, should be immune from criminal and civil liability.
11. There should be sufficient safeguards on voluntary euthanasia to ensure that the vulnerable are protected from abuse and that all requests to die are informed, voluntary and considered.
12. The right to voluntary euthanasia and the placing of appropriate safeguards should be achieved through legislation that specifically legalizes the act of euthanasia.

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Richard Mills, President DWDnsw, is a former member of the Senior Executive Service of the Commonwealth Public Service. Since retiring from the Public Service, he has worked part-time as an editor and an academic. He is also a trained mediator. In recent years he has taught Public Policy at Sydney and Macquarie Universities. At present he is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Government at Sydney University.

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Dr Sarah Edelman, Vice-president DWDnsw, is a clinical psychologist and author. She became a passionate supporter of end of life choices in the 1990's when running group programs for women with secondary breast cancer. The experience highlighted to her that many people with terminal illness want the option of assisted dying should their suffering become too great. Sarah is a frequent guest on ABC radio, where she talks about popular psychology issues.

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Barry Hill, DWDnsw Treasurer, has extensive experience in logistic and materials management and sales. He has spent his life in business, working for companies, specialising in marketing, management and sales. Has tertiary qualifications in Marketing, Production Planning and Industrial engineering. Former President for the Institute of Materials Management.

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Ian Macindoe, PhD (Psychology, Minnesota), has worked as a teacher, psychologist, mental health administrator and editor/publisher. He has wideranging interests, including environmental and population issues, Aboriginal rights and reconciliation, Friends of the ABC, films and theatre, serious music (classical and jazz) and is a life-member of both DWDnsw and Exit International.

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Tom Kelly has been a practising lawyer for 40 years and is the former Public Solicitor of NSW. He has worked on numerous boards and tribunals many of which deal with health related issues, including professional discipline tribunals for doctors, dentists, nurses and optometrists; the Mental Health Review Tribunal; the Psychosurgery Review Board; several human research ethics committees, and the NSW health record linkage system. He has also been an active member of many human rights and community organisations.

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Dr David Leaf, B Med, FACRRM, FRACGP, is a senior registrar in emergency medicine, training to be a specialist. He was a GP in coastal NSW for many years and has extensive experience in palliative care having cared for many dying patients and their families in their home and hospital. David has worked in two other countries for the UN and is passionate about the rights of patients to choose for themselves, after consulting all experts relevant to their situation.

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John Hogan is a former Coal Miner and Secretary of the Miners Federation South Coast Branch. Now retired and involved in voluntary work, especially on the NSW Central Coast. He strongly believes everyone dying should have the right to chose when and where.

 

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Dr Gordon McClatchie  is a retired geriatrician. He was involved in establishing the rehab/ geriatric unit at Wollongong Hospital. He has recently made submissions to the Dept. of Health and Ageing and the Productivity Commission about accommodation changes in Residential Aged Care Facilities. Dr McClatchie's interest in end-of-life issues comes from his work and from his experience as a carer.

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The Staff