Full text of Dr Rodney Syme’s speech on the right to physician-assisted death – as prepared for the RACP Conference – May 2015. “Quite long, but well worth reading,” says Ian Wood
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/full-text-of-dr-rodney-symes-speech-on-the-right-to-physicianassisted-death-20150526-gh9vh0.html
Although I am nearly 80 years old and retired from surgery, I am still practising medicine. For over 25 years I have been counselling people about their end of life concerns. Those conversations are prolonged and open ended. At all times, I endeavour to help people to go as far with their lives as possible. From that experience I have learnt one invaluable lesson – my first self-evident truth – that giving people control over the end of their lives is one of the most valuable palliative tools we have at our disposal.
Today I am going to address the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of palliative care.
From humble beginnings, due to the compassion and energy of Cicely Saunders, palliative care has grown from a single London hospice to a world-wide specialty with strong government support. It is one of the most important developments in modern medicine. It aims to provide compassionate and holistic care for the terminally ill.
Examination of the at least 27 journals devoted to research into palliative care reveals an intuitively obvious conclusion – that ethical research in this area is fraught by a constantly moving target making accurate statistical analysis virtually impossible. Despite the subjective impression that most patients benefit from their hospice care, it has been exceedingly difficult to demonstrate any objective benefits for such care. Continue reading
Formerly known as Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia
Author: Ian Wood (Page 9 of 10)
Dear Member, Friend
A warm welcome to those who joined us this year!
Great News! In June 2014 the Quebec Parliament passed an Act respecting end-of-life care, which allows terminally ill patients to choose an assisted death. The vote was 94 in favour and only 22 against, and all four political parties WORKED TOGETHER to achieve this result. The Act was passed with a standing ovation!
It was thought there would be a legal challenge to this Act, but instead –
The Supreme Court of Canada, February 2015, in a unanimous decision by 9 judges has stated “The prohibition on physician-assisted dying infringes the right to life, liberty and security of the person in a manner that is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice,” and has given the Canadian Parliament 12 months to introduce legislation to comply with the Supreme Court guidelines.
There can be no doubt that this “fundamental justice” should also apply to all Australians!
If you add to this the fact that the Canadian Medical Association have relaxed their opposition to assisting in a death “each doctor can act in accordance with their conscience within the law” – Canada is making the progress we would like in Australia.
In Federal Parliament, Senator Di Natale instigated a Parliamentary Inquiry into a Draft Dying with Dignity (Medical Services) Bill. Continue reading
Told by Dr Rob Jonquiere, Leiden University, Marshall Perron, Former NT Chief Minister, Hon Steph Key MP (ALP), Dr Duncan McFetridge MP (Liberal), Stephen Kenny, Human Rights Lawyer.
Tuesday June 2 at 7pm Hawke Centre Allan Scott Auditorium, UniSA City West Campus.
FREE EVENT! An excellent range of speakers. Please make your booking to attend with a friend if possible.
Register your interest: PH 0421 305 684 / Email: fcoombe@adam.com.au
If you are a NSW voter, will your vote be “Pro Choice”?
The NSW State Election is Saturday March 28, 2015
Thursday March 5, 2015 I had an article, “Yes, Christians do support voluntary euthanasia” appearing in OLO (On Line Opinion)
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=17148
South Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society (SAVES) also have the same article, but with more photos, in their Newsletter.
SAVES Newsletter (9) – Christian Support for Voluntary Euthanasia. SAVES send this to each South Australian MP.
http://www.saves.asn.au/bulletins/mp_eol_newsltr/mp_newsletter230215.pdf
Please read and pass on to your friends
I attended the Dying with Dignity NSW Forum at Parliament House in Sydney, Wednesday 25th February.
A feature of the afternoon was the launch of the Pollies Register, that lists the support or otherwise of NSW MP’s and candidates on the issue of VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING for the Election on Saturday 28 March.
The LOWER HOUSE list may be found here, but please check for updates as they come in –
http://dwdnsw.org.au/documents/2015/pollies%20regsiter.pdf
Pro-Choice candidates for the Upper House can be found here –
http://dwdnsw.org.au/vote-for-pro-choice-candidates-in-the-nsw-election/
DWDnsw President Sarah Edelman gave an insight into Continue reading
THIS IS VERY RELEVANT TO ALL AUSTRALIANS!
Canada’s Supreme Court has unanimously struck down a ban on doctor-assisted suicides for mentally competent adults suffering an incurable disease. The Canadian Parliament has been given 12 months to enact legislation to comply with the Supreme Court guidelines.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-07/doctor-assisted-suicides-ban-lifted-in-canada/6077270
“The prohibition on physician-assisted dying infringes the right to life, liberty and security of the person in a manner that is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice,” the court wrote, adding Continue reading
The first was Peter Short, who succumbed to oesophageal cancer. Peter had been a passionate advocate for the legalisation of assisted dying, I talked about Peter in my first blog on this website.
The Final Post on his Blog, petershort.com.au posted by his wife Elizabeth reads, Hi, my beautiful husband Pete died this morning at 12:20 AM. He died peacefully and I was privileged enough to be sitting on his bed holding his hand at that time. Pete’s decision to opt for Palliative care brought him to a place of calmness and serenity and for all of us, safety and security. It allowed Pete to relax, stop fighting and go calmly to his happy place. Thank you all so much for your constant love and support, it has meant the world to us.
As a family we will continue to strive to achieve Pete’s dream of seeing Senator Richard Di Natale’s Dying With Dignity Bill become Law.
Elizabeth and Mitchell x
The second death was that of Debbie Purdy in the UK. Debbie had suffered excruciatingly for many years from progressive MS. Again, she was also a passionate advocate for the legalisation of assisted dying, and it was her efforts that led to the UK Director of Public Prosecutions issuing guidelines under which family accompanying a loved one to an assisted death in Switzerland would not be charged with the crime of assisting a suicide. Debbie died after she deliberately stopped eating.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2890340/Right-die-campaigner-MS-sufferer-Debbie-Purdy-dies-aged-51.html
The third death was that of a childhood friend of mine from the ravages of Parkinson’s. An email from his wife included, “He passed away last night after 3 tortuous weeks. It is such a relief to see him in peace at last.”
In her Christmas card to us two weeks earlier she had said that his situation was deteriorating, “nearing the end” and that it was “tragic”. Also that it is “Hard to imagine that anyone who sees him would not actively support euthanasia.”
Three more reasons why I will keep striving for compassionate choice in assisted dying!
Archbishop Anthony Fisher
Polding Centre,
133 Liverpool Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Dear Archbishop Fisher
Firstly, my best wishes to you on your appointment as the ninth Archbishop of Sydney.
I am responding on behalf of the members of my Group to aspects of your article in the SMH, Oct 10, 2014. “Euthanasia: lethal dose has fearful consequences.” http://www.smh.com.au/comment/euthanasia-lethal-dose-has-fearful-consequences-20141014-115p18.html
It is grossly misleading to infer the Senator Di Natale Draft Bill is a community response to the “elderly, frail and disabled”. It is a response to those dying and faced with unbearable suffering.
If you read through the draft Bill, you find –
The objects of this Act are:
(a) to recognise the right of a mentally competent adult who is suffering intolerably from a terminal illness to request a medical practitioner to provide medical services that allows the person to end his or her life peacefully, humanely and with dignity;
You state “Now people who aren’t terminally ill, aren’t even physically ill, people who haven’t volunteered or can’t volunteer, can legally be killed”. This is simply emotive scaremongering! I ask would you please provide me with factual documentation for this claim. Belgian legislation has never been restricted to the terminally ill, but legislation does recognise an advance directive. It applies to “a patient in a medically futile position of constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated, resulting from a serious and incurable disorder caused by illness or accident.”
You state, “It asks us all to agree that some people are better off dead and that our laws and health professionals should make them dead.” Again, this is emotive and simply not true. Continue reading
Path clear to enact the right to assisted death
Date November 14, 2014
For the past week, The Age has published in the pages of the newspaper and across our digital platforms a comprehensive series of reports, videos, opinions and contributions from our readers to advocate for the right of terminally ill people to choose, under rigorously regulated circumstances, the timing and manner of their death.
We began the coverage with an editorial urging the Federal Parliament to enshrine this right in law, and with a video testimony by a terminally ill Melbourne man, Peter Short, whose campaign for choice inspired Greens senator Richard Di Natale to propose legislation that would legalise strictly controlled physician-assisted death. We believe that what has been presented in the past five days has established and indeed buttressed the case for change, and today we underscore and amplify our call on our lawmakers to act by debating, honing and then passing Senator Di Natale’s bill. Not only should every lawmaker have an unfettered vote on this, but our political leaders ought to urge support for the change.
The very day our series started, the cross-party Senate committee that had been receiving submissions and holding nationwide hearings on the proposed legislation declared that it, too, supports a free vote. The committee’s chairman, Liberal senator Ian Macdonald, said his mother’s prolonged demise had partly shaped his view that terminally ill people should have a right to assisted death, provided Continue reading