Australia’s final jurisdiction legalises voluntary assisted dying

Voluntary assisted dying is now legal in every Australian jurisdiction after the Northern Territory parliament passed legislation allowing the procedure, ABC reported.

Under the new law, people with a terminal illness expected to cause death within 12 months will be eligible to request voluntary assisted dying. Healthcare workers will be prohibited from initiating discussions about the procedure with patients.

The legislation marks the second time voluntary assisted dying has been legalised in the Northern Territory. The territory became the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce such a law in 1995, but the federal parliament subsequently moved to disallow it, and the legislation was overturned two years later.

Speaking outside parliament after Thursday night’s debate, Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the legislation had been a long time coming for Territorians who had been wronged by the Commonwealth.

“It's a very surreal moment,” she said.

Treasurer Bill Yan read an email from former Mulka member Yingiya Guyula during the parliamentary debate. Guyula resigned from parliament the previous week.

“If VAD is introduced to our communities and initiated by visiting nurses and doctors, there's a possibility many people will fear the clinics and blame the clinics for early deaths,” Yan read from Guyula’s email.

Labour Member for Daly Dheran Young argued in favour of removing the provision preventing healthcare workers from initiating discussions about voluntary assisted dying. Young had previously raised concerns about how the procedure could be received in Indigenous communities.

“I'm quite confident that removing the gag clause won't impede upon Aboriginal people in remote communities,” he said.

Parliament ultimately rejected the proposed amendments by eight votes to 15, leaving the provision in place.

The passage of the legislation makes the Northern Territory the final Australian jurisdiction to legalise voluntary assisted dying, completing the nationwide rollout of laws governing access to the procedure.

By Tamilla Hasanova