Heart-breaking stories back bill

HARROWING stories of suffering were read in the NSW parliament as a bill to legalise voluntary assisted dying was introduced on Thursday.

Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said the bill, if passed, would help those whose pain could not be alleviated by palliative care.

He said he’d been told “heartbreaking” stories by families of people who died “slow and agonising deaths”.

Earlier in the week Mr Greenwich presented parliament with a petition signed by 100,000 supporters of the bill.

The proposal is backed by a record 28 MPS, including members of the government, crossbench and Labor opposition – the highest number of co-sponsors to a bill in the history of any Australian parliament.

If passed, the laws would see NSW follow every other state in the country in legalising voluntary euthanasia for people with incurable medical conditions who have only a short time to live.

“It is my hope that a bill will increase demand for palliative care, as more people discuss end-of-life options with doctors,” Mr Greenwich said. “But even the best quality of care cannot alleviate end-of-life suffering for all people.”