NSW euthanasia bill clears first hurdle

A bill to legalise voluntary assisted dying has passed the lower house of NSW parliament, marking a historic first step to allow terminally ill people to end their life at a time of their choosing.

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich. Picture: Gaye Gerard

A bill to legalise voluntary assisted dying has passed the lower house of NSW parliament, marking a historic first step to allow terminally ill people to end their life at a time of their choosing.

The legislation, introduced by Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, was supported in the Legislative Assembly 53 votes to 36. It will now be subjected to extra voting on 167 amendments proposed during a parliamentary debate that ran over the past three weeks.

Mr Greenwich’s bill, which extends to 81 pages and contains the highest number of co-sponsors of any bill in an Australian parliament, seeks to provide terminally ill people with the option to end their life where they have six months to live.

This timeframe would be extended to 12 months if the patient was affected by a neurodegenerative disease causing unbearable suffering; candidates would need to be over 18, assessed as having decision-making capacity and be acting without duress, among other conditions.

NSW remains the only jurisdiction in Australia not to have adopted VAD legislation.

Thursday’s vote ended a passionate debate between MPs who offered personal stories, polling of their constituents and tearful insights to underscore their voting position.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet opposed the legislation, as did NSW Labor leader Chris Minns, but both permitted a conscience vote on the matter.

Opponents of the legislation said it jarred with their commitment and belief in the sanctity of life. They emphasised the role of improved palliative care as an ­alternative to assisted dying, an argument led by Mr Perrottet.

Supporters of the bill said a number of terminally ill people were beyond the help of palliative care. They also pointed to data from Victoria, where assisted dying is legal, saying that since 2019, some 581 people had been assessed as eligible to end their lives and 224 had made the decision at a time of their choosing.

Thursday’s vote will eventually see Mr Greenwich’s bill referred to the Legislative Council for a similar vote; this is expected to occur in the first half of 2022.