I hope you like our new website. Please check in frequently for the latest in assisted dying news. Ian.
This post is to inform you of a current advocate for dying with dignity who is getting some great media attention for our campaign. Peter Short is a Melbourne resident, who was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer on his 57th birthday in February this year. He was given a prognosis of three to nine months to live. Peter immediately retired from his position as the CEO of Coles Express service stations.
Peter is now living past his life expectancy and is drawing attention to our dying with dignity campaign, starting with a powerful opinion piece he wrote for The Age in May, saying “In the time I have left, I believe I must do what I can to fight for everybody’s right to freedom of choice to control life’s end process if facing a terminal illness…. Choice is a powerful palliative force, I now know. There is an immediate and direct benefit from having end-of-life choice.”
On 15 Oct Peter Short addressed a Senate hearing into the federal Exposure draft of the Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Bill 2014 which has been put forward by Greens Senator Richard Di Natale.
In the last few months, Peter has appeared in dozens of radio, newspaper and mainstream television news stories across Australia. Jeremy Ervine has agreed to produce a feature-length documentary following Peter and his family in “his life’s last great challenge to improve the end of life options of every terminally ill Australian by hustling politicians, lawmakers, lobbyists, activists, corporate Australia and anyone who will listen”. The film will also explore some of the darker ways in which terminally ill people have ended their life without a safe and medically assisted framework in place.
This film is not a commercial endeavour and they are relying on donations to their crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of production. Seed funding was obtained from Dying with Dignity Victoria which enabled filming to commence in August.
The target for the film crowdfunding was reached and in fact exceeded, and Peter thanks all who contributed.
If you would like to hear more about Peter Short and his campaign for Dying with Dignity, please go to http://petershort.com.au