Queensland legalises ‘assisted dying’
The Australian state of Queensland is the latest jurisdiction to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. Nearly all of Australia now has access to “assisted dying”. In due course, someone will have to study why and how Queensland, a largely rural, socially conservative state with a substantial indigenous population jumped on the bandwagon.
The final vote in the unicameral parliament was 61 top 30, so the bill passed easily. About 50 sensible amendments were proposed and debated and none of them succeeded. All this suggests that the battle was lost long ago. Why? I don’t have a clear idea. Perhaps some of our readers may.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
- Queensland legalises ‘assisted dying’ - September 19, 2021
- Is abortion a global public health emergency? - April 11, 2021
- Dutch doctors cleared to euthanise dementia patients who have advance directives - November 22, 2020
More Stories
Queensland widower dies after taking assisted suicide drugs ordered by his wife
“Move along, please. Nothing to see here.” This was more or less the reaction of supporters of “voluntary assisted dying”...
Australian first: nurse donates organs after euthanasia
A Victorian woman has become the first Australian to combine death by euthanasia with organ donation. Ballarat nurse Marlene Bevern,...
Canadian study hints at crushing institutional conscience objections to ‘assisted dying’
Supporters of “voluntary assisted dying” fought hard to achieve legalisation in various jurisdictions around the world. After legalisation, however, battles...
Euthanasia nurses in Belgium smother patient when lethal drugs fail to work
Alexina Wattiez wasn’t supposed to die like this. The 36-year-old Belgian woman was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2021. She...
Toronto’s MAiDHouse: a pleasant place to pass
An interesting aspect of the normalization of euthanasia in Canada is the MAIDHouse. People who want to access MAiD, Canada’s...
Assisted suicide laws in US must be less discriminatory, say bioethicists
California, like other American states, permits assisted suicide, but not euthanasia, and not assisted assisted suicide. Patients who want to...