News

Labor councillor’s plea to NSW MPs

City of Sydney Labor councillor Linda Scott, and her father Dr Gary Scott, are urging MPs to vote in favour of a voluntary assisted dying bill due to come before the upper house of the NSW Parliament within months. Dr Gary Scott was diagnosed with...

Our AGM with Colleen Cartwright

Our AGM was held on Saturday 27 May 2017 in Sydney, and the feedback from those who attended has been terrific. Professor Colleen Cartwright was the guest speaker, with the topic of her speech being ‘End of Life Options – The Key Issues’. Professor Cartwright spoke...

Opposition to VAD is largely religious

Neil Francis presents empirical data and discussion and concludes: "They show that while a substantial majority of Australians support assisted dying, almost all the opposition to it is connected with religion, particularly amongst the most religious who are a small minority of the population.Despite the...

Tasmanian Parliament votes down VAD Bill

Legislation to allow for euthanasia to take place in Tasmania has been voted down for the third time in less than a decade. The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, co-sponsored by Labor justice spokeswoman Lara Giddings and Greens leader Cassy O’Connor, sought to provide adults with “intolerable...

Annie releases petition update

Annie G has sent a petition update to all those people who have signed her Change.org petition “Don’t leave me trapped in a dying body - allow me to die peacefully” which she started on 4 May. It starts "Tuesday was huge for me and...

Nevada bill passes legislative committee

Terminally ill patients in Nevada who want to choose when to end their own lives are one step closer to having that right, after the state Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee voted 3-2, to advance legislation. Senate Bill 261, by Las Vegas Democrat David...

How to have a better death

Polls, including one carried out in four large countries by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an American think-tank, and The Economist, find that most people in good health hope that, when the time comes, they will die at home. And few, when asked about their hopes...

Victorian Ministerial Report due in July

In December 2016, in response to the Victorian Parliamentary Committee's Inquiry into End of Life Choices Final Report, the Victorian Government announced its intention to commence consultations for a voluntary assisted dying framework in Victoria. An expert Ministerial Advisory Panel was established to facilitate this...

970 assisted deaths in Canada

At least 970 people in Canada received an assisted death last year, according to the Health Canada report released on Wednesday that provides the first official snapshot of how medical aid in dying is playing out across the country. Nearly half of all the assisted...

Doctors will be able to opt out

Victorian doctors should have the right to refuse to help terminally ill patients who wish to die according to the Experts Panel Report. Read article...

An emotional Q&A debate

Voluntary euthanasia dominated Q&A on Monday night 10 April. The panel — which included senators Penny Wong and Mitch Fifield, singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, author Nikki Gemmell and ethics expert Margaret Somerville — didn't all see eye-to-eye on the issue, but did all agree it is...

Dr Syme: 2017 Australian Humanist of the Year

The Council of Australian Humanist Societies recognise Dr Syme’s sustained advocacy and well informed support for physician-assisted dying. Dr Syme will be presented with The Australian Humanist of the Year 2017 award at a Gala Dinner on Saturday 8 April in Melbourne. “Assisted dying is...