Article in the Health section of The Weekend Australian 16-17 October by Leigh Dayton on “Laws can safeguard the dying”.
From the article:
Right to dying with dignity legislation is regarded by a growing number of medical specialists as common sense. It’s also integral to the provision of good palliative care for people suffering intolerable uncontrollable pain.
Effective palliative care and hospice services may address many of the key reasons patients request assistance in dying – loss of autonomy dignity and the ability to care for themselves in a home environment.
Another issue is palliative sedation before death to reduce consciousness relieving one or more unmanageable symptoms of pain and distress. This is sometimes calles slow euthanasia and it is legal in Australia.
Many end-of-life patients simply want to die at home but don’t know how.