A bill making euthanasia legal has passed through Parliament in the Australian state of New South Wales, allowing terminally ill individuals to end their lives. There were 23 votes in favor of the measure and 15 against, passing the bill and making NSW the final Australian state to make voluntary assisted dying legal.
- Euthanasia has been debated in NSW for five years. It took all that time for a decision to be made, with both major parties allowing a conscience vote. The bill had been introduced in late 2021 by Independent MP Alex Greenwich and had 28 co-sponsors from all political parties.
- It’s about “honesty and compassion” for suffering, Greenwich says. While many agree with him, Liberal Party Finance Minister Damien Tudehope said passing the law was a “dreadful mistake.”
- Labor MLC Adam Searle thanked those who had advocated for the bill for several decades. “I want to acknowledge the suffering of those who died waiting for this compassionate measure. Opponents of this bill have said this about the killing of innocent persons,” he said after the bill’s passing. “We are motivated by love, by respect, by compassion and because we think ultimately these choices should be for the person concerned as well as their families in light of all of the information they should have given to them It reflects an enhanced respect for life… Let’s make this law.”
- Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher is also against the measure, calling it “disturbing.” He said in a statement: “If a civilization is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, the NSW parliament has failed miserably and has set a dark and dangerous path for all posterity, determining a new and disturbing definition of what it means to be human.”
It’s a shame so many people don’t realize that they have no say over other people’s bodies and what they should do with them.
