South Australia’s lower house passes Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 33-11

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill has overwhelmingly passed the lower house 33-11 in a historic late-night vote. Watch the vote and see how your local member voted.

South Australia’s lower house has voted overwhelmingly in favour of legislation that would legalise voluntary euthanasia in the state.

After six hours of vigorous debate, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passed 33-11 at 1.30am on Thursday, clearing its biggest hurdle yet.

The Bill, which is the state’s 17th attempt to legalise voluntary euthanasia, must get the final tick of approval from the upper house before officially becoming law.

SA would become the fourth state in the country to legalise the practice.

Labor MP Susan Close, who took charge of the Bill in the lower house, told parliament just before the final vote: “this is part of history”.

“We all, whichever side we may take, have been part of a debate that will change South Australia,” she said.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas, who voted in favour of the Bill, said “this is a version of voluntary assisted dying that is worthy of support”.

Reflecting on his time as Health Minister, Mr Malinauskas said he witnessed “first hand the truly extraordinary effort that was going in to keeping people alive”.

“I love the idea that as a state and as a country, we go out of our way to invest an extraordinary sum of our money and our effort in keeping people alive right at the end of their innings,” he said.

“I think that speaks a lot to our value that we place on life and the value we place on human dignity.

“I don’t believe this Bill will discourage that or dissuade that practice from happening in any way shape or form.”

The Voluntary Assisted Dying South Australia group held a vigil on the steps of parliament on Wednesday evening. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Premier Steven Marshall also voted in favour of the Bill.

Lower house MPs approved numerous key amendments, including one that would allow private hospitals to exercise conscientious objection to voluntary euthanasia and refer patients seeking the procedure to other health care providers.

The amendment, lodged by Liberal MP Steve Murray, was widely accepted by other MPs, including Mr Malinauskas.

“One of the persuasive arguments in favour of the VAD (voluntary assisted dying) legislation generally is this idea of choice, this principal of people having the ability to choose a course of action that currently is unavailable to them under the law,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“I find it incongruence to, on one hand be persuaded by the necessity for choice for people to get access to VAD, but then not be persuaded by the argument that someone should be able to choose not to participate in that process.”

Calvary Hospital, which is opposed to the practice, welcomed the amendment.

“The amendment by (Mr Murray) to protect the rights of institutions to conscientious objection in the Bill is a landmark recognition of the importance of this principle in Australian law,” Little Company of Mary Health Care chairman Jim Birch said in a statement.

“(The amendment) means that Calvary can continue to serve the people of South Australia, in that we will be able to offer high quality hospital and end of life care to our patients and clients without being compromised by VAD.”

Another amendment, which would require the government to monitor how much South Australians spend on palliative care after the Bill comes into effect, was also approved by parliament.

The VAD Bill would make it legal for South Australians to access assisted dying, or voluntary euthanasia.

The option would be available to people over the age of 18, who have lived in SA for at least a year and had been diagnosed with an incurable disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced, progressive and which is expected to cause death within weeks or months.

Their condition must also be causing suffering that cannot be relieved.

It is the 17th time a Bill to legalise euthanasia has been introduced in state parliament.

When it passed the upper house last month it was the first time such legislation has passed a chamber of parliament.

Supporters of voluntary assisted dying argue that people should have the right to choose to end of their own suffering, particularly when all other medical options have been exhausted.

Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation has passed the House of Assembly 33 to 11 votes.

Finally.

17 attempts over 26 years.

I have imagined this moment so many times over the last few months. So bloody pleased & proud and just a little emotional.#VAD#TheTimeHasComepic.twitter.com/LNuZJ5nzTv

— Kyam Maher (@kymaher) June 9, 2021

Those against euthanasia raised concerns about safeguards being diluted once VAD becomes law and that it amounts to “state sanctioned suicide”.

In the lead-up to the vote, Archbishop of Adelaide Patrick O’Regan urged the Catholic community to lobby their local MPs to vote against the legislation.

“Our concerns are that we are not actually addressing the difficulties, we are trying to provide a solution to what seems to be a problem,” he said.