Medical doctors, including specialists in palliative care, are set to explode myths about euthanasia and assisted suicide in a series of talks in Sydney, Australia, this month, responding to the latest attempt to legalise assisted dying.

The Australian state of New South Wales will see a new attempt to legalise assisted dying as Independent MP Alex Greenwich is about to introduce a draft bill next month.

Already this year, South Australia approved an assisted dying bill, following Victoria, the first state to legalise the procedure in 2017, as well as Western Australia and Tasmania, which passed similar legislation.

In response to Mr. Greenwich’s bill, doctors in opposition to the legislation will present talks to point out why palliative care, not death, is the only humane, responsible and loving answer to the challenges of illness, disability and infirmity.

Euthanasia threatens the vulnerable

Professor John Whitehall, an expert in paediatrics and child health, speaking as national chair of the Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia (CMDFA), affirmed that euthanasia and assisted suicide do not “constitute a form of medical care…

“The CMDFA agrees with the World Medical Association that the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is unethical and must be condemned by the medical profession.”

Vicar General for the Diocese of Parramatta, Fr. Peter Williams, who will present one talk this month, has also pointed out that:

“It isn’t going unnoticed that in the midst of a pandemic when we are being asked to place restrictions on ourselves in order to keep vulnerable people in our society safe, that Mr. Greenwich has chosen to spend his lockdown period working to propose a law that would threaten the lives of vulnerable people.”

A critical lack of palliative care

SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Director of Communications, said: “It is expected that these informative and factual talks will highlight the vital need for good palliative care, which is underfunded and underappreciated in Australia, as it is in the UK as well.

“As SPUC noted in March, Australia has less than half of the recommended number of palliative care doctors needed to take care of dying and chronically ill patients.

“These findings, reported by the Australian Catholic University’s PM Glynn Institute, also revealed that the number of people hospitalised for palliative care is increasing at an average rate of 5 per cent every year in Australia.

“As Dr. Cris Abbu, the author of the report, highlighted: ‘People say voluntary-assisted dying is about giving patients a choice, but if dying patients cannot access the palliative care services they need, they don’t really have a free choice.’

“Accordingly, should euthanasia be legalised in New South Wales, we can expect to witness death on a large scale, which will only increase, with death becoming the default answer to the task of care.

“Already, in the first six months of euthanasia in Victoria, 52 people were killed because of its assisted suicide law. 43 people self-administered lethal drugs to end their life, while nine people were killed by a doctor.

“This is simply unacceptable. SPUC applauds and champions doctors who speak out against this terrifying trend. We must protect the vulnerable.”