Aussie state legalises right to die

MELBOURNE. — An Australian state yesterday became the first in the country to legalise assisted dying, or euthanasia, with lawmakers voting to allow terminally ill patients the right to request a lethal drug to end their lives.

The legislation, which takes effect from June 2019, was passed in Victoria after 100 hours of often fiery debate, making it the only place in Australia where the practice will be legal.

State Premier Daniel Andrews, who supported the Bill after the death of his father last year and allowed a conscience vote in parliament, said people should have the right to “choose to be in control of the last part of their journey”.

“For too long, we have denied, to too many, the compassion, the control, the power that should be theirs in those final moments of their life,” he said.

“I’m proud today that we have put compassion right at the centre of our parliamentary and our political process. That is politics at its best.”

Jen Barnes, who has a tumour on her brain that is growing and inoperable, welcomed the decision as giving people like her a choice.

“I just want to know that it’s there, the option is there,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“It’s unlikely that I would see it come through for me because I’m not likely to be here in 18 months’ time. But for the future, I think it’s the right way to go.”

The 18-month delay before the Bill takes effect was to finalise details, including deciding which drug, or cocktail of drugs, would be best.

The scheme will be accessible only to terminally ill patients over 18 living in Victoria for at least a year and with less than six months to live, down from an originally proposed 12 months.