Euthanasia
Until recently, Euthanasia has been illegal in Australia. However, on 29 November 2017, Victoria passed legislation permitting euthanasia where certain eligibility criteria are met. The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic) has an 18-month long implementation period and will commence operation in 2019.
Euthanasia was previously legal in the Northern Territory between 1995 and 1997 before the Commonwealth introduced changes to the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978, effectively banning the Northern Territory from legislating on the issue.
The Northern Territory is often considered a frontier and it was certainly the first jurisdiction to really spark the debate in Australia around Euthanasia. However, in 1997 when the Commonwealth intervened it was considered an affront to the Northern Territory's status as a self-governing territory.
Now, Victoria has passed legislation, pressure will be mounting for the Commonwealth to stop interfering and allow the Northern Territory to legislate on this issue once more. If the Northern Territory were to legislate on euthanasia, then the Victorian legislation provides a very recent scheme for analysis.
So What Are the Eligibility Criteria in the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act?
To be eligible in Victoria,
you must be:
- 18 years or over
- Ordinarily resident in
Victoria and an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Have decision making capacity
in relation to voluntary assisted dying
- Be diagnosed with a disease,
illness or medical condition that is incurable, advanced, progressive and will
cause death
- The disease, illness or
medical condition is expected to cause death within less than 12 months
- The disease, illness or
medical condition is causing suffering to the person, and the suffering cannot
be relieved in a manner that the person deems tolerable
Each of these criteria bring with it further questions, take criterion 5 above as just one example, ‘The disease, illness or medical condition is expected to cause death within less than 12 months’. This criterion will be clinically assessed by doctors; however, doctors will also concede that it is near impossible to accurately predict how long a patient has to live. Human life is certainly precious, and any laws passed allowing euthanasia should be carefully considered with the depth of analysis needed for such an important issue.
