SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
The South Australian parliament is considering euthanasia legislation (again) and your voice is needed now more than ever. Despite the South Australian parliament having rejected euthanasia legislation 15 times already, they have established the Joint Committee on End of Life Choices.
We have until 2 August 2019 to answer.
The terms of reference for the inquiry include looking at the practices being used by the medical community to assist chronically ill and terminally ill people with choices about how they manage their end of life, including the role of palliative care.
The Committee will also inquire into and report on the current national legal framework regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide. In particular, they will examine whether the South Australian parliament should enact legislation similar to that of Victoria’s euthanasia scheme.
The far-reaching, devastating consequences of legalising assisted suicide on the vulnerable in our communities are unthinkable.
But you can make a difference.
Use the link below to tell the members of the parliamentary inquiry why legalising euthanasia would be a dangerous idea for South Australia.
Your submission doesn’t have to be long.
Just a couple of sentences is enough to register your opposition to legalising euthanasia.
The key is to use your own words.
Some points to consider for your submission:
- Prohibition on doctors killing patients is a longstanding rule. The World Medical Association and Australian Medical Association oppose euthanasia on the basis that it undermines the doctor/patient relationship of trust.
- Legislative safeguards have proved insufficient to prevent wrongful deaths.
- Governments have a fundamental responsibility to legislate to protect vulnerable citizens. Coercion cannot be outlawed – whether overt or implied, when euthanasia is an option people are made to feel they are a burden (including people with disabilities who already feel a need to justify their existence.)
- It is dangerous to legalise euthanasia when palliative care is underfunded.
- Overseas jurisdictions that have legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide have seen the categories of people to whom euthanasia is applied expand.
- Suicide contagion is a real risk when governments convey the message that some suicides are considered ‘good’. Legalising euthanasia undermines suicide prevention messages.
If you would like to know more about any of these, have a look at HOPE’s submission to the Queensland enquiry here.
You can send a submission by email to the following address:
Or if you prefer, you can send a letter to the Committee, addressed as follows:
Secretary to the Joint Committee on End of Life Choices
c/- Parliament House
GPO Box 572
Adelaide SA 5001
http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Committees/Pages/Committees.aspx?CTId=2&CId=366