By Dominique Tassell
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 will be before Queensland Parliament later this month, and we’ve read the Bill and addressed some misconceptions.
Member for Southern Downs James Lister has previously stated he will not support the Bill, giving points as to why. They are also addressed in this article.
– People will be forced into voluntary assisted dying
The Bill states that a person must make three requests for voluntary assisted dying, must be approved by multiple medical practitioners, and must have their requests witnessed by a legal adult with no conflicting interests in the person undergoing voluntary assisted dying.
Medical practitioners are also prohibited from bringing up voluntary assisted dying without a patient requesting information on it first, and even then must go over all possible options a patient has.
Further, the Bill has very strict guidelines about when a patient is eligible for voluntary assisted dying, which must be signed off on by multiple doctors.
– It makes it a crime for a patient’s caregivers and health practitioners to promote the option of not taking their own lives
As stated above, the Bill prohibits a health care worker from initiating a discussion with a person about voluntary assisted dying or suggesting voluntary assisted dying to the person in the course of providing a health service or personal care service. Health care workers include registered health practitioners and other people who provide health services or personal care services.
A medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may initiate a discussion about voluntary assisted dying only if, at the same, the practitioner also informs the person about other treatment options and palliative care options.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles stated that “The QLRC considered that a key requirement of the scheme is that assisted dying must be voluntary and that offences should include legal safeguards to address the risk of potential coercion or exploitation“.
“The Bill therefore makes it an offence for a person, dishonestly or by coercion, to induce another person to make or revoke a request for access to voluntary assisted dying. Coercion is defined for the Bill to include intimidation or a threat or promise, including by an improper use of a position of trust or influence.“
– It allows doctors who perform euthanasia, but who have no history with the patient, and no specialist knowledge in the patient’s illness, to come in and to authorise and conduct euthanasia
Under the Bill, practitioners must meet minimum qualification, experience and training requirements to perform particular roles.
More than one medical assessment is needed and there are requirements around eligibility and decision-making capacity.
– It makes it a crime for patients’ doctors to object to euthanasia when they have a differing view on what the prognosis of their patient is
This is not the case. The proposed law allows registered health practitioners to refuse to participate or conscientiously object to being involved in the voluntary assisted dying process if it does not align with their values or beliefs.
They will be required to inform the person of other practitioners, providers or services that may be able to assist them.
– It forces hospitals, regardless of any objection they may have to the euthanasia of their patients, to allow outside doctors who don’t know the patient, to come in to perform euthanasia
The Bill does not require an entity to participate in the voluntary assisted dying process.
Depending on the stage of the process and whether the person seeking access is a permanent resident or not, the entity may be required to allow reasonable access to the facility by practitioners who are willing to participate, or to facilitate a transfer to another facility, where the person is not a permanent resident and the transfer is reasonable.
Individual registered health practitioners working at the facility may exercise their right to conscientiously object.
– It proposes to inject funding for euthanasia into places in our electorate where there is barely any palliative care available
Queensland’s proposed voluntary assisted dying scheme is not intended to detract from accessible, effective and well-resourced palliative care. Compassionate, high-quality and accessible palliative care should be available for all Queenslanders living with a life-limiting illness.
The Queensland Government has invested additional funding of $171 million from 2021-22 to 2025/26 to lead reforms to palliative care as part of its commitment to providing Queenslanders with quality and accessible palliative care. The total approximate recurrent annual spend on palliative care by 2025-26 is expected to be close to $250 million annually.
