Western Australia yesterday voted to pass the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019.

“Western Australia follows the State of Victoria, which legalised assisted dying in 2017, and a number of US states which have legalised while our Parliament considered and debated the End of Life Choice Act,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Once again, we’ve been shown that it is possible to create a strongly safeguarded assisted dying law which gives choice to those who want it and protection for those who want nothing to do with it.

“The Western Australian law shares a considerable number of the same safeguards as the End of Life Choice Act, but also shows just how conservative our eligibility criteria is.

“The Western Australian law is limited to those who have a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months, but unlike the End of Life Choice Act allows for 12 months in the case of a neurodegenerative disorder.

“New Zealand is not a world leader on assisted dying and as members of the public prepare to vote in a referendum on the issue they can take comfort in the growing number of jurisdictions that have looked at over 20 years of international evidence and concluded that it is safe to legalise, and it is the compassionate thing to do.”

ends

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