South Australian Senator speaks out against euthanasia.

The following article was written by Paul Russell, the director of HOPE Australia, and published on his blog on December 3, 2013.

Australian Capital (Canberra)

Paul Russell

By Paul Russell

In his Address in Reply to the Governor General’s speech at the recent opening of the new Federal Parliament, outspoken South Australian Senator, Cory Bernardi, railed against the continued push in Australian States for euthanasia.

Whether you agree with the Senator on other issues or not, we are grateful for his words against euthanasia:

Senator & Mrs Bernardi

We must remember that part of the duty of government is to care for its citizens—particularly those who cannot care for themselves. Unfortunately, the push for legalised killing continues. In recent weeks Australia's first euthanasia clinic opened in Adelaide only a few streets away from where I live. Advocates of euthanasia claim that safeguards can limit the abuse of euthanasia. They say that the slippery slope does not exist. But they are either uninformed or are being deliberately misleading to further their cause. In Belgium, where euthanasia was legalised in 2002, there have been a number of cases where patients were killed who did not explicitly request euthanasia and where nurses administered the lethal drugs despite this being against the law. And now, the Belgian parliament is even considering allowing euthanasia for minors. Tell me again that the slippery slope does not exist. Crossing the line to allow legalised killing opens up all sorts of questions that have dire consequences for us all, including the most vulnerable in our society.

NB: Mrs Sinead Bernardi is a Councillor with the Walkerville City Council. Sinead complained to council about the existence of Dr Nitschke's death facility.