The WA Government will introduce a bill into state Parliament to legalise voluntary assisted dying in WA following recommendations from the Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices report.
The bill will be drafted in consultation with a panel of 11 health and legal experts to provide advice to government on a safe and compassionate framework for voluntary assisted dying in WA and chaired by Malcolm McCusker QC.
This decision has been made following the recommendations from the Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices, outlined in its August report ‘My Life, My Choice’.
Labor Members of Parliament will be offered a conscience vote on the government introduced bill.
The Joint Select Committee found that a protracted death from a terminal, chronic or neurological condition can have a devastating effect on patients and their families.
It also reasoned that for people with grievous and irremediable suffering, where death is a foreseeable outcome of the condition, voluntary assisted dying should be an option.
While research shows the majority of Western Australians support voluntary assisted dying, the government remains wholly committed to ensuring that Western Australians have access to high-quality palliative care, and it supports people of all ages with a life-limiting or terminal illness live their lives as fully and as comfortably as possible.
With an ever-growing and ageing population, a renewed focus on palliative care and advanced care planning, including legally binding directives, is vital.
The Department of Health has recently released the ‘WA End-of-Life and Palliative Care Strategy 2018-2028’ which outlines the Government’s strategic policy direction.
It provides a 10-year vision for improving the lives of all Western Australians through quality end-of-life and palliative care.
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