Peninsula resident and chair of the Dying with Dignity (DWD) NSW Central Coast branch, Dr Stephanie Short, has called for efficiency in passing the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill (VAD), amid concerns that opponents will use delaying tactics to stall its legalisation.
Short was joined by other DWD campaigners at a well-attended rally outside Parliament House on March 23 to help speed up the debate on the NSW VAD Bill 2021.
“The most significant VAD-related event [last] week was the commencement of the debate in the NSW Legislative Council on NSW’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill,” Short said.
“There were two and a half hours of debate on March 23 with 12 speeches in all, eight in favour and four against (including Fred Nile and Mark Latham) – incredibly Mark Latham was opposed because he said the Bill was too complicated and no one could understand it.
Short said the NSW Bill is based on legislation that has already been debated, amended and passed in all the other states in Australia.
“It is possible, though not certain, that the second reading vote could happen in the coming week and then the Council does not sit again until May.
“The word is that the debate in the NSW Legislative Council could drag on until June.”
The Bill, which will give terminally ill people the option to end their lives at a time and place of their choosing, now holds the record for the highest number of co-sponsors to a Bill in the history of any Australian parliament.
If passed, eligible patients will have access to life ending medication which they can self-administer or take with the assistance of a healthcare professional.
According to Short, there are extensive safeguards in the Bill including the requirement for two doctors to confirm eligibility and that the patient is acting voluntarily without coercion.
Maisy Rae