A working group is drafting a bill.
A working group is drafting a bill. Greg Miller

The right to take a life to go to parliament in spring

THE working group tasked with drafting a bill that would allow adults to take their lives expects it to be debated in NSW Parliament as early as September.

Nationals Upper House MP Trevor Khan, part of the NSW Parliamentary Working Group on Assisted Dying, expects the bill to be released to the public and notice given to Parliament early this year.

"Debate on the bill is (then) anticipated to occur in the spring session of Parliament,” he said.

Tweed MP Geoff Provest will only support the bill if enough checks are in place to stop its misuse, while Lismore MP Thomas George will comment when it is finished.

The working group was formed in 2015 and has consulted organisations including Dying with Dignity, Go Gentle Australia, the NSW Law Society, the NSW Bar Association and Doctors for Voluntary Euthanasia Choice.

Mr Khan said the draft would use parts of similar successful models from Oregon, California and Canada, and would aim to provide another option for those who wanted one.

"The issue of voluntary assisted dying is a deeply emotive and important issue that is often framed by people's own experience of watching a friend or loved one suffer an excruciating and undignified death,” Mr Khan said.

"The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill (NSW) ultimately is about providing a choice to those people who wish to take control of the final stage of their life, the opportunity to have some final act of dignity, easing the suffering of not only those terminally ill patients who would be eligible under the framework but also the distress experienced by their loved ones.”



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