Legalising Euthanasia?

[wickann15]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed to give her Labor colleagues a conscience vote on a Greens proposal to let the territories legalise euthanasia.
Under commonwealth law, the federal government can overturn any bid by the Northern Territory or the ACT to give terminally-ill people the right to die.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says restoring the rights of future territory governments to introduce euthanasia laws is his top priority.
"This won't bring in euthanasia but it will restore the rights of the Territorians to be able to legislate for euthanasia the same as everybody in the states," Senator Brown told Network Ten on Sunday.
"While this bill is about territory rights, a huge majority of Australians support voluntary euthanasia and it is time for federal parliament to openly debate the issue."
With the Greens set to have the balance of power in the Senate from July, Ms Gillard has vowed to allow Labor MPs a conscience vote on Senator Brown's private member's bill.
"The Labor Party has previously allowed MPs to express their views on this issue with a conscience vote and if, as a result of these discussions, a conscience vote is called for, there is no reason why MPs would not be afforded this opportunity again," she said in a statement.
But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said voters had more pressing issues.
"I'm not denying the concerns people have in this area but I think that we need a parliament which focuses on bread-and-butter concerns," he told reporters.
Senator Brown's bill would repeal the 1997 Euthanasia Laws Act.
Federal Liberal MP Kevin Andrews introduced that legislation two years after a conservative Northern Territory government passed the world's first voluntary euthanasia laws.
Four people used the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act to end their lives before the Howard government intervened.
The present Labor administration in the Northern Territory has no plans to re-introduce euthanasia but Chief Minister Paul Henderson was supportive of Senator Brown's bill.
"I absolutely support the right of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly to determine its own legislation," Mr Henderson said in a statement.
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, who is personally opposed to euthanasia, said he would be "extremely disappointed" if his federal Labor colleagues voted against the proposal.
"The people of the ACT and the Northern Territory have been treated as second-class citizens," he told reporters in Canberra.
"We haven't been shown the respect that Australians within the states are shown, we don't have the democratic rights."
Former Northern Territory chief minister Marshall Perron, who introduced euthanasia laws in 1995, is backing Senator Brown.
Territorians had "unjustly" been denied the right to decide right-to-die laws for themselves, he said.
A voluntary euthanasia bill was introduced in South Australia's lower house of parliament last week.
Speaking in support, Dr Craig De Vos from the group Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia said the majority of Christians were in favour of change despite what the church hierarchy said.
"Some people oppose voluntary euthanasia arguing that it's playing God, but so is artificially prolonging life," he said.
Senator Brown first moved the Restoring Territory Rights (Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation) in early 2008.
Northern Territory senator Trish Crossin told AAP she would urge her Labor colleagues to support Senator Brown's bill this time.

All I can say is about ####ing time! It's stupid that people with terminal illnesses don't have the right to end their lives with dignity. Lets just hope that this isn't some government attention seeking crap and the states will finally legalise it

[mwb235]

I agree with you 100%.

Not only would it be bad enough for those in severe pain without any hope of improvement, but also for those with no dignity because strangers have to feed them, wipe their arses and wash their rude bits. F--k that i'd rather be dead. I remember my Grandad years ago aged 76 in a nursing home in severe pain. He had Alzheimer's and multiple strokes, meaning he'd lost his speech and was paralysed down one side - still mentally "aware" and feeling, just unable to speak. The best he could do was grunt, hold someone's hand with his good hand, and show us how much in pain he was in by the agonised look in his eyes. He was stuck in a bed all day every day and lost a lot of weight until he was a stick figure. His bones underneath him literally stuck thru his skin because of bedsores. People that age also heal very slowly or not at all so his pain level never improved. Often when we got there, the nurses hadn't changed his bedsheets in days so the sheets were stuck to him & often painful to remove. No amount of morphine seemed to help him. That went on for over 12 months before the poor bloke mercifully passed away.

I hope the pollies do bring in such laws, closely monitored and carefully used of course, so that people never have to suffer like that. Politics should have nothing to do with a person's choice to live or die, but there's a lot of nutters out there who take pride in seeing people suffer and denying them what should be their right to decide, often in the name of religion. Now i've said that i'll probably be shot but i couldn't give a f--k regardless. RIP Grandad.

[Red Ranger]

Fingers crossed mate, i belive people deserve to choose when and how thier life ends

[quick308]

Although i have Christian beliefs i agree this should be bought in, it really annoys me how people don't have these sort of rights, it should be their decision to make. Animals get put to sleep when suffering, why can't humans have the same right.

[minux]

While I agree with euthanisa, I also see why people disagree, it is one of those very grey subjects where there is no right or wrong.

[Jesterarts]

About time, a person should have the choice to end their life rather than being forced to suffer for an extended period before dying 'naturally'.

However, there needs to be strick controls and laws around it because as will all things, there will be those who want to abuse this in some way.

[Red Ranger]

Should be limited to those with no chance for a cure that cant lead a normal\comfortable existance then apon applying for euthinasia need atleast 2 doctors verdicts to say "yes this is the kind thing to do"

[minux]

Should be limited to those with no chance for a cure that cant lead a normal\comfortable existance then apon applying for euthinasia need atleast 2 doctors verdicts to say "yes this is the kind thing to do"

This should also apply to those who end up quadriplegic or are born with mental retardation/physical etc (parents call)

[illusionalvr]

theres always a chance of a cure. look how far medical science has come. that said, if i become paralyzed, im getting the #### out of here.

[W84N01]

What i don't understand is............we have so many rights to choose and make decisions for other people and for ourselves, so why is Government and politics involved with arguing if we should have the right to make up our own decidions about soemthing like this?

i've already told my family and friends that if i'm ever in a state like that, please put me down. i don't want to stay breathing just because you're going to miss me. I don't want to be in pain and i don't want to not be able to remember my family and friends, and i don't want to be stuck in a bed with people not giving two shits about me.

It's my decision and i have made it now, whilst in sound body and mind, so i don't see what the problem is later on in life when it comes to that?

I hope and pray that they pass it and it becomes law.......it's not fair and not right to let someone live in pain and suffering just because you're too worried about Politics.............it's bullshit.

We have the right.........

And we have the right to excersize that right........

(As long as it's done in the proper way of course).

my Grandad was sent home and left ina hospital bed at his house with my sick Grandma to look after him, he was in pain, Mum and Dad flew over to Sciciliy and spent over $50k on medication etc trying to make him more "comfortable", and he died a slow and painful death, all because they didn't believe in it either........it makes me so mad ggrrrr

[Mr_Clubsport]

I honestly think there is enuff youth in asia already... and they have already started coming over the boarders into our country...

i think Julia should CLOSE THE BOARDERS

thus enabling the youth to stay in asia

[wickann15]

This should also apply to those who end up quadriplegic or are born with mental retardation/physical etc (parents call)

Agree with you mate. Parents together with their doctor should be able to decide if a child that is born severely physically or mentally retarded should have a choice about what to do with their kid. Who wants to look after a little kid in an adult body for the rest of their lives?

As for there may be a cure one day etc- do you really think a person who is in severe pain and has no quality of life anymore gives a damn about what science may or may not be doing? They just want it to end and the pain to stop. Watching a person slowly and painfully die is not a nice thing to see.

[Philthy]

As a very young child at the time, I am still grateful for the time I had with a terminally ill loved one. Even back then I understood they were in a lot of pain (consistant 8/10 on that technical scale), but even down to the last few day we managed to make good memories.

Watching someone deteriorate in such a short amount of time isn't easy for anyone involved, but there are always ways to make the most of whatever time they have left

[Stressball]

Watching someone deteriorate in such a short amount of time isn't easy for anyone involved, but there are always ways to make the most of whatever time they have left

Maybe so. But does that mean that they should not even have the choice whether or not to be euthanised?

[Demonica]

Ha not everyone has a quality of life when they are dying. I watched my Great Grandmother slowly and painfully die of cancer over a two year period. She had no quality of life. She was stuck in a hospital bed unable to do anything for herself. They had to give her that much morphine to control her pain she could barely even recognise her own family.

I really hope if anything happens to me and I end up as a quadriplegic or slowly waste away from an incurable illness that i will have a choice to end my life with dignity.