Melbourne, Australia, Dec 8, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The government of the Australian state of Victoria is looking to legalize euthanasia in 2017, but physicians have warned of the risk of diminishing palliative care, already underutilized and underfunded.
A committee of Victorian Members of Parliament recommended in June legalizing voluntary euthansia under limited circumstances, after looking at similar laws elsewhere. A panel was then established to advise the government on an appropriate model, and the government's deadline to respond is Dec. 9.
The committee had recommended allowing euthanasia for adults of sound mind who have a serious, incurable condition. They must make a voluntary written request, repeated thrice.
Finalized legislation will be presented to the Victoria parliament next year for a conscience vote.
Fiona Patten, leader of the Australian Sex Party and a Victoria MP, has said that “allowing terminally ill people the right to die when they choose, with dignity, is not only compassionate but common sense.”
Within recent weeks, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has been more outspoken on the subject, claiming the potential act as “a way forward.”
Margaret Tighe, president of the Right to Life Australia, spoke out against Andrews, saying his support for euthanasia disregards the problems which have arisen in other places where it was legalized.
Doctors in Victoria are also concerned with potential risks of the new act, including diminished funding for palliative care and a lack of safeguards.
President of the Australian Medical Association Victoria, Lorraine Baker, stated that “palliative care must be freely available to all who have a terminal condition or who require management of the symptoms of chronic and incurable medical conditions.”
A professor from St. Vincent's Health, Peter Hudson, has warned Victoria's government that the assisted suicide system has not been thoroughly tested, and may offer the necessary support only when it is too late.
Under the proposal, “if you elect assisted suicide you're going to be guaranteed certain supports, whereas if you don't, your chances of getting comprehensive, quality palliative care are less than likely,” Hudson told ABC.
Hudson also expressed a belief that the state's politicians have are naive about how quick and painless a death can be expected with euthanasia.
“There's an assumption that if assisted suicide or euthanasia is supported, then people who avail themselves of this will have a kind of sanitised, completely pain-free death, and that can't be guaranteed … we have evidence in jurisdictions where euthanasia has been supported that for some people, they actually regurgitate the medications they've been given, some people have had seizures, and some people actually it takes them a very long time to die.”
Professor Mark Boughey, a colleague of Hudson's, believes palliative care has significantly improved within the last 50 years, and is a better option than euthanasia.
Palliative care should be “a standard of care, but at the moment, the standard of care and the referral processes just don't exist,” he lamented.
He recommended first prioritizing palliative care, before looking into euthanasia.
“Let's see what happens to our community if we enable quality palliative care rather than launching in to investing in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide at this point in time.”
Should Victoria legalize euthanasia, it would be the first Australian state to do so. It had been legal in the Northern Territory through a 1995 act, but that act was overturned in 1997.
Article Archive
Doctors warn Australian state against legalizing euthanasia
Related Articles • More Articles
St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów is depicted as the patron saint of Poland in a miniature painted by Stanislaw Samostrzelnik of Mogila. / Credit: Polona Digital Library|Wikimedia|PD-ArtWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience invoked the intercession of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, for peace in Ukraine and Israel.Addressing Polish pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, the pope said: "Today you celebrate the solemnity of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr, patron of your homeland.""St. John Paul II wrote of him," Francis went on, "that from high in heaven, he shared in the sufferings and hopes of your nation, sustaining its survival, especially during the Second World War."Francis prayed that the intercession of St. Stanislaus "obtain, even today, the gift of peace in Europe and throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East."What does Poland have to do with these wars? This co...
null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).A trio of Catholic radio networks has filed a petition against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over new requirements that will soon mandate that all U.S. radio and television stations publish information about the race and gender of their employees.In a 3-2 ruling in February, the commissioners of the FCC reinstated a requirement that radio stations must annually file a document, known as Form 395-B, that lists the race and gender of their employees.The FCC governs radio stations transmitting on AM or FM frequencies, satellite radio and TV stations, cable networks, and broadcast TV stations. These entities are required to maintain a summary of publicly accessible information known as a public file, with varying requirements among the types of stations regarding what must be contained in the file.The FCC had not required Form 395-B since 2004, following a 2001 ruling by t...
Servant of God Nino Baglieri. / Credit: ANS/SalesiansACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him. The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, "becoming a Christian."Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that "prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer."Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: "We are grateful t...