Euthanasia is an Issue that must be Considered and Applied to our Everyday Lives.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Euthanasia is an Issue that must be Considered and Applied to our Everyday Lives.

I speak on the Euthanasia Laws Bill to oppose it and to support voluntary euthanasia, in particular, the rights of the people of the Northern Territory. It extends to their citizens the right to opt for voluntary euthanasia. I speak on this issue with as much commitment as I have ever spoken on any matter before.

As a doctor, as a relative, as a friend, I have on a number of occasions sat with people who have suffered the long, undignified, unedifying and sometimes very painful end to a useful, wonderful and productive career as a citizen that accompanies the extenuated dying process which comes from our ability to live longer as a result of modern technology. I have seen them suffer. I have heard their calls for help in ending their indignity and their suffering. That appeal comes with me into this chamber and into this speech.

I have a short excerpt from a national newspaper here with me, which reads:

It is almost a month now since my father-in-law, known to the family as Pa, died.