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Assisted suicide – sometimes referred to as medical aid in dying – means a procedure in which people take medications to end their own lives with the help of others, usually medical professionals. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is an end of life measure for a person suffering a painful, terminal illness. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifies under the physician-assisted suicide laws for that location, the physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs.
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The Voluntary Euthanasia Party (VEP) was a minor political party in Australia, founded in early 2013 by Corey McCann to advocate for legislative change to allow voluntary euthanasia in Australia. The party's inception was strongly supported by Dr Philip Nitschke, director of Exit International and Richard Mills, then President of Dying with Dignity NSW.
On 29 November 2017, Victoria became the first Australian state to pass legislation allowing assisted suicide. The law gives anyone suffering a terminal illness, with less than six months to live, the right to end their life. The law had an 18-month implementation period, and came into effect on 19 June 2019.
Western Australia was the second Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, after Victoria. The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 was passed into law on 19 December 2019, and came into effect on 1 July 2021.
References
- ↑ Tabling Speech - Senator Cook
- ↑ Honorary Award Recipients, 12 May 2014
- ↑ Queen's Birthday 2001 Honours (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-03, retrieved 2015-06-27
- ↑ Our way of saying thank you - Cancer Council Western Australia, archived from the original on 2015-06-29, retrieved 2015-06-27
- ↑ Moodie, Claire (19 September 2017). "'With his death he made a statement': Widow speaks out on euthanasia". ABC News. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ↑ Hondros, Nathan (12 November 2018). "McCusker drafted to write WA government's voluntary assisted dying law". WAtoday. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ↑ "Parliament passes historic voluntary assisted dying laws for WA". Media Statements. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ↑ Hamlyn, Charlotte (29 June 2021). "WA's voluntary assisted dying laws come into effect tomorrow as community leaders remain split". ABC News. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ↑ World Masters Games 2002 - Squash - Game day