Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has delivered an impassioned plea for the introduction of a Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill in NSW Parliament, saying while "death may be inevitable, suffering until your final breath should not be".
Highlighting the "hell on earth" passing of Newcastle woman Jayde Britton in 2018, Mr Crakanthorp issued a plea to his fellow parliamentarians to pass the bill, which needs 47 votes to secure its passage through the Legislative Assembly.
"Jayde died only three weeks after taking the suggestion from a doctor that it may be time to stop treatment and enjoy the time she had left. Except that time was anything but enjoyable," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"(Her partner) Abbey describes Jayde's last days as hell on earth. One morning in that last week Jayde woke and said she was ready to go. It took another six days, which included hallucinations as her body shut down.
"She was in so much pain. She stopped eating and drinking - you go into starvation mode with that, your bowels can become impacted, and she got to the point where she was vomiting her own faeces.
"I challenge anyone who opposes voluntary assisted dying to look Abbey Egan in the face and say that Jayde's life had to end that way."
The bill has a record 28 co-sponsors from across the political spectrum.
The parliament was due to sit into Friday night after the debate was halted for over an hour due to technical issues with a broadcast from the Legislative Assembly.
The bill will likely go to a vote next Thursday, when attention will then turn to debating suggested amendments.
If the bill passes, it would make NSW the last state in Australia to permit voluntary assisted dying.
"That is the crux of this issue; the choice to hang on or the choice to let go, and the choice of how you spend the end of your life. Choice," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"Death may be inevitable, but suffering until your final breath should not be."
