A leading bioethicist has used Australia as a case study to warn against the “slippery slope” of euthanasia as the assisted dying bill prepares to have its third hearing in the British Parliament. Source: The Tablet.
David Albert Jones, director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford, released a report exposing that as the scope of the law on assisted dying has expanded in Australia, “safeguards have been eroded”.
“I hope this report will open people’s eyes as to just how quickly safeguards have been eroded or abandoned in Australia,” Professor Jones said.
According to his research, Victoria’s first voluntary assisted dying law, introduced in 2017, allowed euthanasia only for people who were physically unable to take the medication themselves.
By 2021, Queensland had broadened access, permitting a doctor to administer the drug if they considered self-administration “inappropriate”.
Eligibility criteria for terminal illness have also expanded.
In Victoria, patients had to be expected to die within six months, or 12 months for those with neurodegenerative diseases.
But in 2024, the Australian Capital Territory removed the time limit altogether, meaning there is no longer a requirement that a person be expected to die within a certain period.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales, is in its report stage, where further amendments can be made, and is due to have its third hearing in the House of Commons on April 25. If approved by a majority of MPs, the bill will pass to the House of Lords.
“It is important for Parliamentarians in the United Kingdom to realise that once you legalise some form of assisted suicide, you open the door to later expansion affecting more people and open to more abuse,” Professor Jones said.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has also released a video, “The Assisted Dying Bill – Why it must fail”, featuring healthcare professionals, bioethicists, an MP and a lawyer addressing the inherent dangers of the proposed assisted dying bill.
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Australia’s assisted dying ‘safeguards’ quickly eroding (By Tabitha Smith, The Tablet)
