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Dying with Dignity Tasmania

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25.01.2022 People all round the State have made their support known - and it's working! Now's the time to thank and encourage supporters in the House of Assembly as well as trying to convince others who haven't yet made clear they'll vote for the Bill. Supporters include all Labor and all Greens MPs, and Liberals Sue Hickey and Nic Street. Other Liberals who indicated support in principle in the last debate in 2017 should be urged to vote for this Bill - Roger Jaensch, Sarah Courtney and Mark Shelton. We would also like to see the Premier urged to make a commitment to vote for it as well as ensure it gets debated as soon as possible in the new year.

24.01.2022 That's the issue for doctors - supporting patient choice and choosing to assist their patients to achieve the time and way to end intolerable suffering AND to achieve the best end of life in very difficult circumstances, according to our own beliefs, values and what's important to each of us.

22.01.2022 3 and 4 December debate in the House of Assembly coming up! Debate will start on 3 December in the Tasmanian House of Assembly on the End of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill, as passed by the Legislative Council on 10 November. 3 and 4 December will see MPs making their general speeches on the Bill - we expect all of them (except possibly the Speaker, Sue Hickey) will make a speech. This will be followed by the Second Reading vote. We expect it will pass at this stage and the detailed debate on the clauses of the Bill will follow in late February or early March. Keep reminding MPs of your support for the Bill and urge them to pass it without further amendments - particularly the amendments that were rejected by the Legislative Council.

20.01.2022 Extraordinary news this morning that guarantees the passage of a voluntary assisted dying law for Tasmanians! It has been announced by the Premier that the End of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill will be taken through the House of Assembly as a Private Member's Bill by Liberal Sarah Courtney (who is also Minister for Health). The Premier made it very clear that the carriage of the Bill is one of individual choice by Ms Courtney. There were already 13 of the 25 MP...s in the House of Assembly who had committed to vote for the legislation. Ms Courtney's commitment adds to that majority and we expect there will be more Liberal MPs who will also now support it, adding to all the Labor and Greens MPs. We will continue to work for the Bill to be passed without further amendments that would unnecessarily restrict access to VAD choice as provided in the Bill as passed unanimously by the Legislative Council on 10 November. The Bill has all the proven safeguards. More restrictions won't make it safer - just less effective in providing the fair, equal and timely choice that Tasmanians want, whether it's to access VAD or not.

17.01.2022 South Australia's on the move!

16.01.2022 And Queensland moving ever closer!

11.01.2022 Grab a bumper sticker from one of a range of businesses and help keep up the message to MPs in the House of Assembly - it's the time to finish the excellent work by Mike Gaffney and other Legislative Councillors and pass the EOLC (VAD) Bill without changes. There are aspects of the Bill DwDTas would prefer weren't there eg timeframe prognoses, but the Bill has all the necessary safeguards to prevent feared risks to vulnerable people. Additional restrictions aren't necessary and won't make it "safer". They just create burdensome hurdles and obstacles to voluntary, timely, fair and equal access to VAD by the people who need and want that choice.

11.01.2022 The Australian Family Association, a Catholic front group, are encouraging their supporters to email and phone Tasmanian MPs against the End of Life Choices (VAD) Bill. They have referred them to 'Live and Die Well', a Tasmanian Catholic front group for the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart and to choose from their 'lines of reasoning': The state should never sanction any action by a person conducted with the intention of hastening the death of another person. This Bill is ...completely unnecessary as palliative care can help alleviate end-of-life suffering. Better funding is needed to improve the availability and cost of palliative care. It is impossible to develop assisted suicide/euthanasia laws that can ever adequately protect the vulnerable. Doctors should focus on a patient’s health rather than giving them a lethal injection (euthanasia) or a mixture of poison to drink (assisted suicide). Assisted suicide and euthanasia laws inevitably expand over time. No Tasmanian MP is going to fall for this rubbish and any of them who cite idiotic arguments like this know how foolish they'll look.

07.01.2022 There's been wonderful support and excitement about the passing of the End of Life Choices (VAD) Bill 2020 by the Legislative Council. We congratulate and thank Mike Gaffney for his tremendous commitment and efforts to achieve this. DwDTas asked him to be the proponent of a VAD Bill and have supported and worked with him constantly for two years. We have the greatest admiration and respect for his principled, hard-working and passionate efforts that have always been focussed first and foremost on the people who need and want VAD to end their suffering and to have a better end of their lives. Thank you Mike and your great supporters and helpers behind the scenes especially Mel and Bonnie.

05.01.2022 DwDTas supports the EOLC (VAD) Bill being passed by the House of Assembly without further amendments. There are things in the Bill we would prefer aren't there and which we've argued against, eg the prognosis requirement. But the Bill has been thoroughly considered and debated both in the development and consultation phase and in the Legislative Council and passed unanimously by the Council. It looks after people better than in both the Victorian and WA laws by allowing th...e VAD Commission to grant an exemption from the prognosis requirement, by allowing nurses to be involved and in allowing some doctor-patient telehealth. It also looks after people who are eligible for VAD much better than in Victoria and it's closer to the WA law which improved on the Victorian one; eg the skills and expertise of GPs are recognised and there's no requirement for a specialist to be involved; medical practitioners can provide information about VAD at the same time as information on other options; there's more consideration of people's needs for health practitioner administration of the drugs. We are very pleased that the Legislative Council did not agree to a proposed amendment that occurs in no other VAD laws and would have allowed religious residential care organisations from preventing fair and equal access to the VAD process in their facilities. When lobbying House of Assembly MPs, urge them to pass the Bill without the amendments that were unsuccessful in the upper house and without any other unnecessary restrictive provisions. The Bill includes all the proven safeguards against risks to vulnerable people and the sooner it's passed, the sooner people can access this important choice. See more

03.01.2022 Live in Braddon? Tell Felix Ellis you support VAD and why, and urge him to respond with compassion and respect for the people in his electorate who need and want VAD to end intolerable suffering and achieve the best end of life they can in their very difficult circumstances - according to their own beliefs, values and what's important to them. Urge him too to respond with respect for the doctors and other health practitioners making a voluntary, ethical and professional choice to provide legal VAD.

03.01.2022 The End of Life Choices (VAD) Bill as amended and passed by the Legislative Council is available from the Tasmanian Parliament website at https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/bills/pdf/30_of_2020.pdf

02.01.2022 There was an extremely interesting and enjoyable interview on ABC Mornings this morning with Jo Palmer, Liberal Member for Rosevears in the Legislative Council. She told the story of her journey from having serious reservations about the VAD legislation at the time of her candidacy and election a few months ago to being able to vote for the EOLC (VAD) Bill on Tuesday. She exemplified everything we want from MPs on this issue - open minded, thorough and principled consideration of the issue, with the needs and wishes of her community foremost in her mind. (The segment starts at about 36 minutes 20 secs). We hope for the same from her Liberal colleagues in the House of Assembly, only two of whom have so far indicated support for the Bill. https://www.abc.net.au//programs/mornings/mornings/12854946