This week, Andrew Denton, founder of Go Gentle Australia, gave a magnificent and moving address to the National Press Club in Canberra.
The address marked 10 years since Andrew gave an earlier address to the National Press Club, vowing to “light a fire so big no politician could ignore it”. This was at a time when no jurisdiction in Australian had in place voluntary assisted dying laws. That speech launched Go Gentle Australia and a national campaign for voluntary assisted dying laws.
Ten years later, every jurisdiction in Australia has passed VAD legislation.
Andrew praised the efforts of all those who have contributed to these legislative changes, but also highlighted the many challenges still faced.
First and foremost, the “Telehealth Ban” which prevents any form of VAD dialogue occurring via phone/email/video/internet, thereby severely discriminating against rural people seeking to access VAD. Andrew also highlighted the impediments being placed in the way of individuals seeking to access VAD by faith-based hospitals and aged care facilities. Additionally, the “Gag Clause” in South Australia and the Northern territory prevents medical practitioners from initiating VAD conversations, thereby denying patients being fully informed of their options.
Andrew announced the creation of a Go Gentle research fund. This will, in the first instance, facilitate research into the complexities of individuals with dementia accessing VAD. A second research strand will look at documenting institutional impediments (hospitals and aged care facilities) to accessing VAD.
Anyone wishing to watch Andrew’s superb speech can access it on ABC iVIEW.