Opinion: Euthanasia push an election risk for Qld Labor

Fallen treasurer Jackie Trad’s continued push on a divisive issue is undermining her Premier in the lead-up to the election, writes Des Houghton.

Jackie Trad’s push to legalise assisted suicide has created two vexing problems for the Labor Party in the lead-up to the state election.

It undermines her leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, who sought to delay the debate until after the poll.

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And it has emboldened a powerful set of church leaders and the faithful who, like me, see euthanasia is an affront to human dignity.

A coalition of the faithful has been established to block the proposed new laws.

The group includes Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Hebrew Congregation leader Rabbi Levi Jaffe, and Uniting Church Moderator David Baker.

Baptists, Lutherans, Wesleyan Methodists and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, other academics and church leaders have signed up.

A phone book of doctors’ names appears as supporters of the coalition.

Regardless of your beliefs, I think mercy killing boils down to a pretty basic question: Do you consider life to be, as the Christians say, “sacred”, or is it something that can be tossed on the scrap heap like a broken guitar?