Think of those in pain
AT their state conference recently, the Queensland LNP voted to oppose voluntary euthanasia.
This is despite the fact that since 2012 reliable polls have shown that 80 per cent or more of the population want to have a choice in how they die.
A recent newspaper poll returned a vote of 93 per cent in favour. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has agreed to allow a conscience vote on the current Bill before Parliament, which will prevent the Australian Government from overturning voluntary assisted dying laws in the territories of Australia.
The Australian Christian Lobby welcomed the result of the conference, however, not all religious people agree with this. Notable Christian supporters who have openly supported voluntary assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally capable people, if that is their choice, are: South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the retired Archbishop of Canterbury. In South Australia, there is a group called Christians for Voluntary Assisted Dying.
The Christian lobby often comes up with claims of abuse but these claims are unfounded and without solid examples. Andrew Denton and the Victorian committee, conducting the inquiry into abuse of laws in overseas countries, where voluntary assisted dying ( VAD) has been in place for up to 20 years, extensively researched and interviewed all walks of life – for and against the laws – for many months, but the conclusion of their research showed no abuse whatsoever.
Prominent doctors openly supporting VAD are immunology professor Ian Fraser, Professor Nick Graves from QUT’s faculty of health, and academic director of the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation Professor Brian Owler.
Dr Peter G Beahan from Doctors for VAD says “Giving a patient the option of VAD can greatly relieve anxiety. Over a third of patients granted access to Nembutal never actually use it. Giving patients control over the timing of death can make parting with loved ones easier to organise and to cope with. Retaining consciousness up to the point of death allows for communication that can have an easing effect on the process of ‘ letting go’.”
Dr Clive Deverall was battling a rare form of nonHodgkins lymphoma, and enormous side effects of medication. In an interview with Claire Moodie, six months before his death, he explained the problem with the lack of a compassionate law was that it would force some people into taking their own lives in a fairly brutal way.
The LNP and other parties should seriously consider the following:
• It is legal for people to commit suicide. It is estimated 50 people per year in Victoria suicide, often violently and alone, to escape the pain of dying.
• It is legal to refuse all medical treatment, food and water, to die slowly of starvation and dehydration.
• It is legal for a doctor to slowly drug you into a coma while your family waits for days, or weeks, for you do die.
• But, it is not legal to relieve people of intolerable pain quickly and peacefully.
Queensland is the only state in Australia that has never attempted to introduce a VAD law.
The politicians in Queensland need to listen to the people and do something about taking the initial step of introducing an inquiry, sooner rather than later, that will end the suffering, if they so wish, of people experiencing a “bad” death. MARJ LAWRENCE, Regional Co- ordinator, Dying with Dignity Queensland.