Tag Archive | "voluntary euthanasia"

Tags:

Speech: Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill

Posted on 02 May 2013 by Cate

Cate with Loredana Alessio-Mulhall

Cate with Loredana Alessio-Mulhall

*CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY*

As I rise to formally introduce the Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2013, I have at the forefront of my mind human suffering.

The suffering that we here in this place have the power to prevent, and I would strongly argue, the responsibility to prevent.

Suffering like that experienced by Angelique Flowers.

Diagnosed with an aggressive and advanced colon cancer just before her 31st birthday, Angelique, an articulate, softly spoken writer learnt that despite all the achievements of modern medical science and the love, support and care of her family, she faced an agonising and grossly undignified death.

Angelique soon discovered that the type of cancer ravaging her body would mean her pain and suffering towards the end of her life would not be alleviated in any adequate way with palliative care.

Angelique’s colon cancer was aggressive. And it was cruel. And when she became aware of just how she would die Angelique desperately wanted to avoid dying this way.

But she did.

Continue Reading

Comments (5)

Tags:

Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill

Posted on 02 April 2013 by Cate

The Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill was introduced to the NSW Legislative Council on Thursday May 2nd, debate began on May 9th and will continue on May 23rd.

The bill, a briefing note and a flow chart that explains the process and outlines the conditions that must be met for terminally ill patients to receive assistance to die can be downloaded below.

Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill

Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2013 – Flow chart

Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill – Briefing note

Continue Reading

Comments Off

Tags: , , ,

Loredana’s story

Posted on 18 March 2013 by Cate

Comments (1)

Tags:

Dying With Dignity: Your RIGHT to Choose?

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Cate

A tour by Greens MP Cate Faehrmann

 Upcoming Forums: 

Mosman
Mosman Art Gallery, Grand Hall
Cnr Art Gallery Way and Myahgah Rd, Mosman
6.30 – 8 pm, Monday, 20th May 2013

 

Previous Forums:

Cate speaking to attendees at the Dying with Dignity forum in Newcastle.

Cate speaking to attendees at the Dying with Dignity forum in Newcastle.

Wollongong
The Builders Club
61 Church St, Wollongong
6.30 – 8 pm, Wednesday, 6th February 2013

Newcastle
Cardiff RSL
45 Macquarie Road, Cardiff
7 – 8.30pm Monday 11th February
     

Coffs Harbour
Cavanbah Centre
181 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW
6.30 – 8 pm, Tuesday 12th February 2013

Ballina
Riverside Function Centre
240 River Street, Ballina NSW
6.30 – 8 pm, Wednesday 13th February 2013

Attendees at Coffs Harbour showing their support for the rights of the terminally ill.

Attendees at Coffs Harbour showing their support for the rights of the terminally ill.

Dee Why
Dee Why Master Builders Club
18 Fisher Rd, Dee Why
6.30 – 8 pm, Tuesday, 9th April 2013 

Parramatta
Parramatta Town Hall
182 Church St Mall, Parramatta
6.30 – 8 pm, Thursday, 11th April 2013

Katoomba
Katoomba RSL Club
86 Lurline St, Katoomba
6.30 – 8 pm, Monday, 15th April 2013

Orange
Orange City Bowling Club
61-89 Warrendine St, Orange
6.30 – 8 pm, Tuesday, 16th April 2013

Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga Commercial Club
77 Gurwood St, Wagga Wagga
5.30 – 7 pm, Friday, 26th April 2013

Tweed Heads
South Tweed Sports Club
4 Minjungbal Drive (Old Pacific Highway), Tweed Heads South
3.00 – 4.30 pm, Sunday, 5th May 2013

Paddington
Paddington RSL
220-232 Oxford St, Paddington
6.30 – 8 pm, Monday, 13th May 2013

Comments (4)

Tags:

Voluntary euthanasia discussion paper to inform debate on Greens bill in 2013

Posted on 15 November 2012 by Cate

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has welcomed the release of a comprehensive report from Australia 21 which examines the facts around  voluntary euthanasia and looks at existing schemes overseas. Ms Faehrmann’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill is in the final stages of drafting and is due for debate in 2013.

“Given overwhelming public support and the suffering of some patients who want better end of life options, it is critical that we have a well informed public debate free from scare mongering. This report goes a long way to kick starting that debate, ” said Ms Faehrmann.

“I will be sending a copy of this report to all my colleagues in the NSW Parliament. It is critical that read it before considering my bill in the new year.

“Importantly, the report recognises that voluntary euthanasia is already occurring in Australia despite being unlawful. This is exactly why the Greens bill is so important. We need to put in place appropriate safeguards for something that is already taking place. My bill will provide better choices and security at the end of life for people in extreme pain.

“The scare mongering around slipperly slopes and non-voluntary euthanasia is not based in fact.  While not strictly taking sides, this report is a welcome unbiased examination of these issues and will hopefully allow politicians to see through these false arguments,” said Ms Faehrmann.

Media contact: Peter Stahel 0433 005 727

Sign up for Cate’s enviro updates

* indicates required




Also interested in…

Comments Off

Tags:

Voluntary euthanasia

Posted on 23 October 2012 by Cate

ADJOURNMENT SPEECH

Since I became involved in the campaign for voluntary euthanasia, I have been overwhelmed by the touching personal stories that members of the community have shared with me. These people have been compelled to share their stories after watching a loved one needlessly suffer excruciating pain before their death. Particularly poignant was the story of Sarah Edelman describing her father’s experience in palliative care following his diagnosis with incurable cancer. “The cancer that was growing inside of him caused him severe pain whenever he ate, so dad was limited to tiny quantities of soup,” wrote Edelman, who was shocked to discover that her father was not exaggerating when he said he was eating less than a two-year-old. Edelman was quick to praise the attentiveness of nursing staff and the facilities of the palliative care centre that her father was admitted to weeks after his diagnosis. Unfortunately, her father’s condition quickly declined. She wrote:

It is impossible to describe the weakness and fatigue that beset my father in those last few weeks of his life. The fatigue was utterly debilitating—incomparable to anything I have ever imagined, and with it came deep despair. The weakness increased daily, progressively robbing him of every capability. As even tiny amounts of food caused stomach pain, dad gave up on eating. On their daily visits doctors … had nothing to offer for dad’s weakness and malaise.

Two weeks later, Edelman wrote that her father no longer had the strength to leave his bed, he was no longer able go to the toilet and he was too weak to locate the call button. Shortly after, Edelman recounts, her father developed oral thrush from not eating, causing painful inflammation of his mouth which made it almost impossible for him to speak. Unable to swallow anything, her father tried to drink which resulted in fluid pouring into his lungs. Edelman reflects:

I suspect what made dad’s experience particularly difficult was that he was mentally alert, and so aware of every aspect of his degeneration. As dad’s quality of life diminished, he started longing for death. Repeatedly he told doctors that he could not bear it anymore and that he wanted to die. He described the process as “torture” and he wanted it to end “today”. On one occasion he told the doctor “I never imagined that dying would be so difficult”. The best the doctor could offer him in response was “it shouldn’t be too long now” … Dad had never previously been interested in euthanasia, and if there had been any quality of life to extract over the next few days he would have seized it.

This difficult story does not stand alone. Ronda wrote to tell me the story of her husband, Wayne, a successful businessman and marathon runner who after being diagnosed with an incurable brain disease recognised he would progressively be unable to walk, talk, write, eat or see properly, that he would eventually be unable to stand, and that this would typically be followed by death by choking. While he still possessed the ability to do so he obtained the Nembutal drug—dubbed the peaceful pill—and ended his own life months, perhaps even years, earlier than he would have had to if voluntary euthanasia were available. Wayne’s decision to die was not recognised within our justice system and as a result Ronda was subject to a police investigation that lasted nearly a year and ended with an autopsy of her husband.

Val wrote a similar story of her 94-year-old mother, a former barrister facing her own mental and physical degeneration, who decided to starve herself to death over a prolonged four-week period. Shirley retold to me a story of her husband, Russ, who was diagnosed with an advanced tumour in his left lung. At 78 years old he decided to decline chemotherapy on the grounds that he had been fortunate enough to have lived a good life. Only months later, as his family was struggling to cope with the debilitating effects of his diagnosis, Russ attempted to take his own life by taking a large dose of morphine and slashing his wrists. After this, Russ was rushed to hospital where he told specialists he had had enough of the pain. It then took Russ several months to die at his local hospital.

Beth told me about how she and her children watched her husband, Frank, suffer a series of strokes. After living a very poor quality of life for a year, Frank suffered his third stroke. By this point Frank was in a great deal of pain, having lost all bodily movement, rendering him unable to speak or swallow and causing the restriction of his bodily functions to the extent that he had no dignity left at all. In hospital Frank refused a drip and pointed to letters on an alphabet board saying, “Had enough, no more”. Beth watched the gradual dehydration and starvation of her husband over the next few weeks, an experience she describes as horrendous.

The Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2012 to be introduced to Parliament next year will hopefully bring an end to tragic stories like these. It is a fundamental right that individuals die in comfort, in dignity and at the time of their choosing if they so require. These stories that have been shared with me are a pertinent reminder of just how personal is the choice for voluntary euthanasia. The religious, ethical and personal beliefs of others should no longer be permitted to prolong the suffering of the terminally ill.

Comments (8)

RELATED SITES