Northern Territory Euthanasia Collection - Submission by Marshall Perron to the Victorian Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Legislation Committee Inquiry into End of Life Choices 2015

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CreatorPerron, MarshallScope and ContentsMarshall Perron's submission to the Victorian Inquiry cover 4 areas - the need for laws; palliative care; relevant existing reports; and the type of legislative change that may be required. 1) The need for law reform is beyond question given improved technology and living standards have meant people are dying of degenerative and terminal diseas and committing suicide far more frequently. 2) Australia's palliative care is excellent but the reality is that it cannot cover all eventualities and this fact is universally acknowledged. 3) Perron references 4 reports: Australia 21's How Should Australia regulate Voluntary Euthanasia (2012) and The Right to Choose an Assisted Death (2013); the Royal Society of Canada's End of Life Decision Making (2011); and the Quebec National Assembly Select Committee's Dying With Dignity (2012) 4) Perron advocates that legislation must above all ensure that patients act voluntarily, are informed and have obtained multiple medical opinions to confirm diagnosis.BackgroundThe Northern Territory was the first jurisdiction in the world to explicitly legalise euthanasia. The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT) entered into law on 1 July 1996. The following year the Commonwealth Parliament intervened to overturn the Act. Section 50A was added to the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 to prohibit the Northern Territory from making laws in respect of euthanasia. The Rights of the Terminally Act was in force for 9 months, during which time four people died by medically assisted suicide through its provisions.Date2015KeywordVoluntary EuthanasiaPalliative CareSafeguardsCollectionNorthern Territory Euthanasia CollectionCollection Number14-024Alternative CollectionPage 1522-1525LanguageEnglishProvenanceThe NT Euthanasia Collection contains donations from a number of contributors. This item was donated by Mr Marshall Perron.Related MaterialPlease see folder list for the NT Euthanasia CollectionCultural AdviceAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers should be aware that this collection may contain images or names of people who have since passed away.LocationArafura Research ArchivePhysical DescriptionElectronic Document - 4 Pages

PersonMarshall PerronPlaceVictoria

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TopicEuthanasia

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