Church leaders are questioning the trajectory of Australian society after a shock spike in euthanasia deaths enabled under voluntary assisted dying legislation across the nation. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Numbers reported in The Australian showed more than 7200 people died by VAD since it became legal in Australia in 2019, including 3329 last financial year alone.
Queensland’s numbers were the highest of any jurisdiction with 2110 total VAD deaths despite euthanasia only becoming available in January 2023.
Townsville Bishop Tim Harris said to “learn that Queensland leads the way in terms of VAD deaths is a shocking discovery”.
“This is nothing to be proud of and more of an indictment on the system that has been set up to facilitate such a horror as state sanctioned suicide,” he said.
“This is the path that governments have provided for the terminally ill without any serious or proper funding of palliative care.
“I’ve said many times before that VAD would not be necessary if governments took their responsibilities seriously and provided a regime of care that supported life rather than colluding to take life away.”
Sydney auxiliary Bishop Danny Meagher, who is bishop delegate for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference euthanasia taskforce, said the numbers were “extremely concerning”.
“It indicates that the elderly and sick of our community are lacking any sense of belonging that they would choose death,” he said.
“It indicates a lack of care and support for our vulnerable.
“There need to be more palliative care, especially in our regions,” he said.
“It is dreadful to think that, because there is a lack of proper medical care, people are choosing to end their lives.”
In the reporting period 2024-25, Queensland reported 1072 VAD deaths, New South Wales reported 1028 in its first full year of operation, while Victoria recorded 389.
Xavier Symons, director of the Australian Catholic University Plunkett Centre for Bioethics, said the spike in VAD reflected the permissiveness of legislation in different states.
Associate Professor Symons said Australians were sold “the myth that euthanasia would be very rare”.
“The reality is that it is being normalised,” he said.
FULL STORY
Queensland leads Australia in euthanasia deaths as annual numbers spike to 3329 (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
