Suicide deaths have increased in Victoria Australia since assisted death was legalized

This speech was given in the Victoria Australia Parliament on June 21, 2023.

Hon. Damien Tudehope

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE (21:31): It is four years ago tomorrow that euthanasia became legal in Victoria. It was claimed during the parliamentary debate that this would prevent 50 suicides each year. Not only has there been no such decline, but there were 62 more suicides in Victoria in 2022 than in 2017, when this claim was made. The suicide rate among those aged over 65 years increased in Victoria between 2019 and 2022 by 42 per cent—five times the increase in New South Wales. It is over a year since this House voted 23‑15 to create an exemption to the laws on murder, and on aiding and counselling suicide, to allow the supply and administration of a lethal substance to a person for the purpose of causing his or her death.

The misnamed Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 will come into effect on 28 November 2023. NSW Health is busily preparing for this State-sanctioned killing by setting up pharmacy services to supply the deadly drugs and a "care navigator service" to connect people with medical practitioners willing to end their lives. Expressions of interest for the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board have closed and appointments are expected to be made shortly. The members of this board are being given the ultimate power over the lives of vulnerable people. Under the Act, only the board can issue a voluntary assisted dying substance authority—a VADSA—the legal authorisation for a specified medical practitioner to terminate the life of a named person with a specific lethal substance. Who can want this power over the lives of others so much as to seek appointment to this death board? We will see.

It is clear from the Victorian data that State-approved suicide for some evidently leads to more suicide overall. As the first State to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide, Victoria included some restrictions to win over the final votes needed for the legislation to pass, including a default practice of self-administration, with practitioner administration permitted only when self-administration was not possible. There was also a complete prohibition on medical practitioners suggesting voluntary assisted dying before a patient initiated a request for information on it. Western Australia abandoned those restrictions, with predictable results: In the first year, 190 people had their lives ended—147 by administration of a lethal poison by a medical practitioner and 43 by self-administration of a lethal poison. Those deaths accounted for 1.14 per cent of all deaths in Western Australia, nearly double the rate of 0.58 per cent in Victoria in its third full year of legalisation.

If the same impact is seen in New South Wales, around 2,175 deaths can be anticipated under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act in its first year of operation. Rather than offering death by lethal substance to vulnerable people, we should be saying, "We respect you, we value you, we love you and we will wrap around you all those services that see out your dying days in a proper and dignified manner."

Austrian assisted suicide law for people with disabilities began on January 1.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The media have published many articles about the Austrian assisted suicide law coming into effect on January 1.

I reported a few weeks ago that the Austrian parliament had legalized assisted suicide for people with disabilities.

An article by Bob Cronin for Newser.com reported that assisted suicide was now available to Austrians with a terminal illness or permanent, debilitating condition. Permanent debilitating condition means people with disabilities or chronic conditions.

I warned that legalizing assisted suicide for people with disabilities who are not terminally ill will quickly enable the expansion of the law. The term permanent debilitating conditions will soon expand to include many conditions.

Cronin's article describes the process that doctors must follow to approve death. The article states:

• Documentation: Applicants must show a diagnosis and confirmation that they're capable of making their own their own decisions. Those with mental health problems are excluded, as are minors.
• Doctors' approval: Two doctors have to assess each case, with one of them being a specialist in palliative medicine.
• A waiting period: Once two doctors approve, nothing can happen for 12 weeks, theoretically so patients can consider their decision and draw up a will. The wait, which is two weeks for those with a terminal illness, also is designed to ensure the health issue isn't temporary.
• Notifications: After the waiting period, the patient is to inform a lawyer or notary, then receive access to lethal drugs from a pharmacy.

The only "safeguard" in Austria law is the 12 week waiting period for people who are not terminally ill and two week waiting period for those who are terminally ill.

My concern is that the Austrian law which was supposedly designed with "tight" restrictions will in fact become wide-open quickly since the law permits assisting the suicide of people with disabilities who are not termilly ill. In other words, the term permanent debilitating condition can be applied to many conditions.

Austrians living with suicidal ideation will die by assisted suicide.

Austria legalizes assisted suicide for people with disabilities

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Austria Parliament

Bad news: Austria's parliament passed a bill, yesterday, legalizing assisted suicide. The assisted suicide bill is a reaction to last year's Austrian Supreme Court decision. Wesley Smith stated that the Austrian Supreme Court said that the right to self-determination includes the right to a “dignified death,” and also the right of a person who has decided of their own free will to kill himself or herself to get help in doing so from another person.

The Associated Press referred to it as a tightly limited right to assisted suicide whereas my analysis of the bill found that the language of the bill specifically permits assisted suicide for people with disabilities who are not otherwise dying.

On October 26 I wrote that the Austrian bill states that chronically or terminally ill adults to make provisions for an assisted suicide. When assisted suicide is permitted for chronically ill people the law will become fairly wide open. Many people with disabilities, who are not otherwise dying, have chronic conditions.

DW news reported that:

The Assisted Suicide Act gives the option of an advance directive — similar to a living will — only to people over 18 who are terminally ill or suffer from a permanent, debilitating condition.

Each case is to be assessed by two doctors, one of whom would have to be an expert in palliative medicine. As part of their duties, they must determine whether a patient is opting for euthanasia independently.

At least 12 weeks must pass before a patient is granted access to the procedure, to ensure that euthanasia is not being sought due to a temporary crisis. However, for patients in the "terminal phase" of an illness, the period can be shortened to two weeks.

The Austrian assisted suicide law, which is tauted as a tightly worded law, is similar to other assisted suicide laws with the exception that it contains a longer waiting period but the person does not need too be dying. The language of the bill permits assisted suicide for people with disabilities who are not otherwise dying.