Displaying items by tag: Euthanasia

According to the Sydney Morning Herald,  euthanasia advocate, Brian Owler thinks many of Australia's MPs are 'out of touch' with the desires of the public to be given access to assisted killing. However, pro-life senators tell us that the majority of submissions to a recent federal inquiry were advocating for life, rather than for euthanasia. Below are portions of the presentations given by three Australian senators who voted against the recent Leyonhjelm bill which would have allowed the territories to pass euthanasia legislation.

This is a paper I presented recently at an evening considering issues around euthanasia and assisted dying: Euthanasia Paper May 2018. It presents reasons why changing the law in these areas is not a good idea in the interests of society at large and the vulnerable sick and elderly in particular.

This testimony was written in 2015 by my friend Natalie, and describes her experience with terminal cancer. While so many these days are encouraged to end their lives for the flimsiest of reasons, Natalie’s story shows that life can always be meaningful, even when there is suffering involved. This weekend marks an important anniversary for me. It is the ninth anniversary of my diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. I had been sick for several months, with severe back pain and a bad dry cough and vomiting, but many trips to the doctor had failed to provide an explanation. Finally it got to the point where I could barely walk from my pharmacy to the car park.

I recently attended a colloquium run by the Presbyterian Church, Religion in the Public Square. Speakers included the illustrious Augusto Zimmerman, journalist Angela Shanahan, and other cultural commentators. The talks covered the current litany of restrictions being placed on Christians in the public arena. It was sobering to hear spectrum of persecutions being waged against us both in Australia and overseas - remember this was before the results of the postal vote on marriage were known. If it was bad before, then it prosises to be much worse from now on.

At the completion of the Rio Paralympics in 2016, Marieke Vervoort, a Belgian silver medallist in the 400 metres, and a winner of silver and gold medals at the London Olympics announced to a BBC interviewer that she had completed the requirements to receive medical assistance to commit suicide at a future time of her choosing.

Marieke explained that, notwithstanding her satisfaction at winning the medal:  there is also another side to the medal, the side of suffering and of saying goodbye to the sport. Because I love the sport, sport is my life.  Referring to her future plans, she confided: I know when it's enough for me, I have those papers.

We think that this model, which we acknowledge is the most conservative model for assisted dying in the world, is the right model for Victoria (Professor Brian Owler)

Claiming a world’s best regulatory document inevitably recalls Bob Carr’s comment in the course of the debate on an Australian bill of rights.  Carr commented that, on reading, the world’s most impressive charter of rights came from the USSR in the mid 1930s.  Recently, the difference between regulation and practice in banking and irrigation has made news.  It’s all about compliance.  How well will the 66 recommendations in the world’s most conservative model for assisted suicide accomplish compliance?  This paper will briefly consider some of the recommendations, especially in the context of other regulatory systems.

[This is the second article on assisted suicide in the series by Peter McCullagh. Click here to read the previous article, Good Suicide Vs Bad Suicide:]

Q.  What do the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘slippery slope’ (in relation to assisted suicide) have in common?

Α.  Both are regularly dismissed as fictitious in ‘one liners’.  In both instances, the terms predict adverse consequences.  In both instances, those predictions are based on preceding events, and their value will be dependent on the accuracy of description and analysis of those events.  Should the evidentiary value of relevant preceding event be poor, then the credibility of the predictions, be they concerned with climate or assisted suicide will be proportionally diminished.  ‘One line’ dismissals, particularly in relation to assisted suicide, have invariably denied the existence of the preceding events on which predictions of a ‘slippery slope’ are based.  Nevertheless, detailed examination of those events has invariably been absent.

[The Mother Situation is a brilliant short film by Matt Day that explores three siblings and their plans to be rid of their ailing mother and to access her estate. It's a side-splitting comedy about a very dark subject that has implications for issues such as euthanasia, assisted suicide and elder abuse. The short film closes with the three accomplices waiting in their (now deceased) mother's lounge. A new character enters who we quickly learn is a real estate agent. As he provides an assessment of the value of their mother's property, the film closes at the siblings' jubilation. Michael Griffith's play, The Magnolia Tree is as far from a comedy as one can get. Similar to The Mother Situation, the play centres around three siblings, an ailing mother, conflicting directions, motives and emotions and ends with a 'kill or care' decision made by the audience. Again, it's all about the money.

The push to legalise euthanasia continues in the West. The Benelux countries led the way with legalisation (the Netherlands, 2002; Belgium 2002; Luxembourg, 2008), and some other states and countries have followed suit since then. While euthanasia is presented as something compassionate, it is anything but. Plenty of helpful resources on this are available, but here I want to mention two new resources which are worth being aware of. The first is a helpful piece in today’s Weekend Australia by Paul Kelly, and the second is a soon to be released book by myself. [This book is now available - Ed.]

"I am going to die anyway. I am not being involuntarily euthanized. My nearest and dearest sympathize with my decision. I have tried very hard to beat the disease, but I have had enough and want - quite literally in my case - to go and meet my maker."

Rev. John Cartwright

Assisted Dying: Who Makes the Final Decision?

These words were written by philosopher and Congregational minister, John Cartwright. He is also a member of the Inter-Faith Leaders for Dignity in Dying. John Cartwright's outlook is shared by many people who want to see euthanasia and assisted suicide legalised, and who are convinced that the so-called 'slippery slope' poses no danger to such legislation, because stringent safeguards will be written into the laws.