Why is Louisa Wall MP in Denial about Suicide?

Media Release 6th November 2016

Right to Life is concerned that Louisa Wall, is guilty of misleading Parliament and the community by refusing to recognise that “medical aid in dying” is a euphemism for suicide. Louisa Wall is a member of the Parliamentary Health Select Committee, which is currently hearing oral submissions on the terms of reference that relate to the petition of the Hon Maryan Street petition. It is critically important that members of this Committee have an understanding that the term “medical aid in dying” is a euphemism, used by the pro euthanasia lobby to disguise the actions of doctors killing their patients or assisting in their suicide.

Louisa Wall by her misrepresenting suicide, does the Committee, Parliament and the community a great disservice.

At the hearing of oral submissions on Wednesday 2nd November, Bob McCoskrie, the national director for Family First, in his submission stated that with Parliament discussing assisted suicide it could increase the number of suicides.

Louisa Wall said that his argument was” fundamentally flawed” because he did not differentiate between medically assisted dying and suicide. “I don’t see them as congruent,” she said. “There is a huge contrast between people who are facing imminent death and people who are hopeless or depressed.”

“To say that someone like [euthanasia advocate] Lecretia Seales was committing suicide is just wrong.”

Louisa Wall is guilty of misleading Parliament and the community by seeking to deceive the Committee. Ms Wall should be aware that for many years the pro-death lobby, promoting a law change to allow doctors to kill their patients or assist in their suicide, did not seek to hide the fact that doctor assisted suicide was suicide. This is spelt out clearly in the Crimes Act, as a serious crime. The euthanasia movement came to realise that suicide was repugnant to the community and thus changed its strategy. Language is very powerful.

Ms Wall should note that the Dutch Parliament when passing the euthanasia legislation were under no illusions that they were legislating for the killing of patients.

The Dutch Parliament in 2002, when passing the “Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide [Review Procedures] Act”, was under no illusions that it was authorising doctors to kill their patients by assisting in their suicide. The Act states that, it requires that the physician “has terminated a life or assisted suicide with due care.” [Chapter II, Article 2, 1,f.]

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

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