Former Premier of NSW Australia opposes assisted suicide.

Because every life matters.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Australian State of New South Wales (NSW) will soon debate a bill that is sponsored by Alex Greenwich MP (Independent) to legalize assisted death.

An opinion article written by Mike Baird a former NSW premier explains that even though he recently lived through the death of his mother, that he continues to oppose the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Mike Baird, former Premier of NSW

In his article published by the Sydney Morning Herald on October 13, 2021 Baird writes that after being with his mother through her process of dying, the issue of assisted dying has become personal for him. Baird writes:

There were days when I cried just wishing she would walk, talk or laugh again. It is also easy in these circumstances to understand how people wish it would just end, believing quality of life is over. I don’t agree.

In the last 12 months of Mum’s life, my eldest daughter was going through a marriage breakdown. It was heart-wrenching for everyone. In the middle of this, my daughter went to visit my mum.

She greeted my daughter with tears and eyes that shared the pain. When my daughter came home, she said, “I have never felt so loved.” It was as if my mum’s eyes had given her the hug she needed, the tears, the comfort.

Baird explains how legalizing assisted suicide concerns the meaning of being human. He writes:

In this debate we find ourselves on the edge of what it means to be human and looking for an answer. Voluntary assisted dying is introduced to us; it looks neat and easy compared with the messiness and struggle of the natural journey to what we fear might be a difficult death.

But there is nothing neat and easy about agreeing to end a life, however well-motivated the choice seems. Even writing these words reminds me why we would never consider these options normally.

He then writes about how good palliative care leads to a true death with dignity. He continues by emphasizing the need for a caring society.

Despite good intentions, I just don’t think laws can replace human love, compassion and ingenuity. When we lose sight of the intrinsic and immeasurable worth of every moment, for every human life, the laws put in place never protect in the way we hope they might. The unintended consequences can bruise, numb and lessen the spirit of who we are as a people.

Baird concludes his article by emphasizing how every life matters.

With deep respect for all sides of this debate, I call on NSW not to follow, but to lead towards a society where every last moment of life is cherished and remembered, supported by universally available palliative care. Because every life matters until the last breath.

According to an article published by the Conversation on October 12, Premier Dominic Perrottet, Deputy premier Paul Toole and Labor leader Chris Minns, all oppose the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide (assisted dying) in New South Wales.