Archbishop makes plea against ‘kill teams’ amid battle over assisted dying laws in aged care
Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher says faith-based aged-care facilities should no longer have to host euthanasia ‘kill teams’ in NSW.
Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has launched an attack on euthanasia laws in NSW following a failed attempt to overhaul the scheme, declaring faith-based aged-care facilities should not be forced to “host kill teams on site”.
Archbishop Fisher told The Australian NSW Labor needed to protect aged-care providers, staff and residents from “deadly drugs” after parliament voted down a bid last month to give faith-based providers the right to refuse to facilitate euthanasia on their premises.
It comes after the NT government committed in October to drafting VAD legislation, making it the last jurisdiction in Australia to legalise euthanasia almost three decades after the right to access was overturned.
However, a final report tabled to the NT Legislative Assembly has recommended the new laws include the same reform knocked down in NSW, which would ensure aged-care centres that “object to VAD may refuse to participate in VAD”.
The Australian previously reported silk Arthur Moses warned the NSW parliament the reform would be “constitutionally invalid” as it would be overridden by commonwealth law, reigniting a showdown over religious freedoms in aged care.
As NSW launches a review into its own VAD laws and the NT prepares to introduce legislation next year, Archbishop Fisher said the right to object to VAD should “not be controversial” as similar laws apply in Victoria and Tasmania to uphold the beliefs of religious institutions that oppose assisted dying.
“We know many in our community, whatever their beliefs, seek out faith-based aged-care facilities especially because of our view that every human life is sacred … our frail elderly should be given the choice to live out their final days in a place where they know they will be safe from VAD,” Archbishop Fisher said.
“And (staff) who have spent decades in the service of the sick and elderly should not be forced by law to stand back and allow people to come into their homes and administer deadly drugs to their residents. It is antithetical to the mission to which they have given their lives.
“Even Victoria and the ACT, often regarded as the country’s most ‘progressive’ jurisdictions, do not force aged-care facilities to host kill teams on site.”
Faith-based aged-care facilities in NSW are required to facilitate euthanasia in their homes in line with South Australia, Queensland and WA.
A review into the NSW laws, due to take place two years after VAD legislation was introduced in November 2023, will seek to update the “operation and effectiveness” of the legislation and could set the stage for an overhaul of euthanasia schemes as religious groups and pro-VAD bodies push for amendments.
Go Gentle Australia, a national charity promoting end-of-life choice, said it would “vigorously campaign” against any reform in the NSW or NT that would seek to give faith-based aged-care facilities greater power. “The archbishop may not think it controversial to obstruct an aged-care resident’s choice to VAD but this shows how out of touch he is with the majority of Australians on this issue, including his own congregation,” Go Gentle chief Linda Swan said.
“To imply elderly people in aged care are somehow unsafe because another resident chooses VAD is fearmongering at its worst. Referring to VAD ‘kill teams’ is deliberately provocative and callous.”
Dr Swan said aged-care placements were “largely determined” by bed availability, cost and location rather than religious values amid shortages in the sector, which must be taken into consideration as both the NT and NSW review their approach to the issue.
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