No compelling reason to re-open euthanasia debate

Euthanasia advocates should take note of last year’s resounding defeat of Victoria’s euthanasia bill and stop continually trying to push for laws which would put at risk the lives of vulnerable sick and elderly people, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said today.

ACL Victorian Director Rob Ward said that last August the Physician Assisted Dying Bill 2008 was comprehensively knocked back in the Victorian Upper House by 25 votes to 13.

“Tomorrow’s Steve Guest Day Rally is yet another example of the campaign being waged by a small group of euthanasia advocates to bring in laws which would have disastrous ramifications for vulnerable people,” Mr Ward said.

“The Victorian Parliament has already voted in favour of valuing life and affirming the role of doctors in caring for the sick, not harming them. It is time to let this issue rest in peace.”

Mr Ward said that, as a society, we should be seeking to ease people’s pain through better palliative care, not promoting killing as an alternative to helping them.

“We should also continue to stand firm in rejecting legislation that would send dreadful messages to the sick and elderly about the worth of their lives and which would put people’s lives at risk.

“For example, in Holland where euthanasia has been legal for some years, research indicates that around 1,000 people are killed each year without their consent,” Mr Ward said.

“Even in Australia, where euthanasia is illegal, several of the well-publicised cases of euthanasia associated with high profile euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke have eventually been shown to not involve terminal illnesses at all - but rather curable conditions or even simply depression.

“We know that professional palliative care can relieve the suffering of the vast majority of patients experiencing a terminal illness. What we really should be doing is putting more attention and resources into enhancing the quality of and access to palliative care in the community – not advocating legalised killing.”

Mr Ward said that society should be affirming the unique and intrinsic worth of all human beings, no matter what their physical, mental or emotional state might be.

Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979