Updated January 2008

Rudd explains why he opposes euthanasia

02/05/2008 AAP | Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd remains opposed to voluntary euthanasia but says parliamentarians are entitled to a conscience vote on the issue.

Euthanasia was a complex and difficult area of medicine but laws allowing it could lead to the elderly and terminally ill thinking they were a burden on their loved ones, he said.

The Senate is currently revisiting a decision by the previous government to overturn the Northern Territory's euthanasia laws. Australian Greens senator Bob Brown has introduced a private member's bill seeking to restore the laws. Mr Rudd, who supported the Howard government decision, said he was opposed to the move.

"I say that as someone who has ... been in family circumstances where you've seen people very near and dear to you, in the case of myself, my mother, who died of cancer," he told Macquarie Radio Network. "It's not pretty to watch but my own personal view ... these are matters for conscience votes.

"If it becomes a mater for vote in the federal parliament, people exercise their conscience differently. "You asked me directly what my view is, that's it."

‘Living wills’ bill puts vulnerable patients at risk

27/05 Australian Christian Lobby | The ‘living wills’ bill currently before the West Australian Parliament does not contain enough safeguards and would put vulnerable patients at risk, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said today. ACL West Australian Director Michelle Pearse said that while Advanced Healthcare Directives can be beneficial if suitable protections are in place for both doctor and patient, the current bill does not provide these protections.

Mercy kill debate to go ahead

25/01 Ellen Whinnett for the Herald Sun | VICTORIA is set for an explosive parliamentary debate on euthanasia after the Government agreed not to block the introduction of a Private Member's Bill.

Liberal MP Ken Smith has agreed to introduce a Bill to let doctors help terminally ill patients commit suicide.

Greens MP Colleen Hartland will co-sponsor the Medical Treatment (Physician Assisted Dying) Act 2008, some time in the next six months.

Premier John Brumby's office has written to the pro-euthanasia group Dying with Dignity and assured them it will not stand in the way of the Bill if it is introduced.

Mr Brumby's spokeswoman, Alison Crosweller, said no formal request had been made to introduce the Bill.

Children's and Women's Affairs Minister Maxine Morand had previously supported the group's causes.

But Ms Morand could no longer be a sponsor of the Bill as she has been promoted to Cabinet and is not permitted to sponsor anything except government business.

... Mr Smith, the Member for Bass, said he felt very strongly about the issue and would definitely be introducing the Bill.

"It's something I believe in very strongly," he said.

"I will be talking to my party but I plan to introduce it anyway."

The move by a Liberal to introduce the Bill is likely to be controversial and cause considerable debate within the party.

If it gets through to a second-reading stage, it's likely the party would be given a conscience vote.

Mr Smith said he was committed because he had seen members of his family die from cancer.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23103766-2862,00.html