Opinion – A choice at the end of life

This month, the End of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Private Members Bill will be tabled in the Upper House of Tasmania’s Parliament.  On 15 September, it will be debated and, if successful, it will then go to the Lower House to be debated and voted on there.   

If the bill is passed by both Houses, Tasmania will become the third Australian state to provide its citizens with the option of voluntary assisted dying as part of end-of-life care. Victoria and Western Australia are the other two states.

In recent months, many Tasmanians and a number of representative groups have contacted me to share their views on this important topic. There are strong feelings expressed both against and in support of the bill. 

Let me share just some of the key things I’ve heard from listening to this wide range of views:

The thought of being at the mercy of an incurable terminal condition and experiencing intolerable suffering for a period of time before dying is something that worries many people.

Those who have seen a family member or friend go through such an experience are often adamant that a protracted, painful and undignified death punishes the dying person and their family unnecessarily and robs them of the opportunity to share what could have been a more peaceful death.

Some medical practitioners are in support of this option being available, while others are firmly against it, would not want to be a participant in it, and are concerned that it may be detrimental to the well-being of medical practitioners who are involved.

Everyone wants there to be a well-funded palliative care service available to Tasmanians. Some people believe that voluntary assisted dying undermines palliative care services, while others believe it will support and bolster it.

There is a unanimous view that vulnerable people must be protected from abuse and exploitation. Some believe this has been achieved well in other jurisdictions that have these laws in place, while others feel that it is not possible to ever adequately provide this protection in the case of voluntary assisted dying.

This is clearly a complex issue. Given that complexity, it is important we are accurate and respectful in our discussions. 

To help with an accurate discussion, let me mention a few facts about the bill that is coming to Parliament this month:

To be eligible to access voluntary assisted dying (VAD), the person has to be over 18 and to have lived in Tasmania for at least twelve continuous months before making a request for VAD.

The person has to have decision-making capacity, be acting voluntarily and be suffering intolerably in relation to a medical condition. That medical condition has to be advanced, incurable, irreversible and expected to cause the death of the person.  This eligibility criteria have to be confirmed at each stage of the process, not just once.

You can only make a request to access VAD for yourself, it can’t be requested by a family member, your doctor or some other person.

Doctors do not have to be involved if they do not wish. To be involved in the VAD process a doctor has to have at least 5 years’ experience, have completed approved VAD training, not be related to the person and not be in a position to financially benefit from their death.

The process includes three separate, formal requests to access VAD, and then a final permission stage. After the second of those three formal requests, there must be a second opinion from another medical practitioner who also assesses the eligibility of the person.

Once the detailed processes for the prescription, authorisation and dispensing of the VAD substance has occurred, the person can administer it to themselves with an authorised person present; or, they can be assisted by an authorised person to administer it to themselves; or, an authorised person can administer it to them.

These are some brief factual details from the bill, which is over 150 pages long and contains extensive detail and definitions on every aspect of the process.  I hope it helps with community discussion, please contact me for more detail. I welcome people sharing their views on this with me.

Hon Meg Webb MLC – Kingborough Chronicle 25 August 2020