Hunter woman's call for people to sign a petition supporting Alex Greenwich's forthcoming 'euthanasia bill'

THERE are no easy answers to the myriad of ethical, moral and practical issues surrounding euthanasia.

If there were, we would have no need for the protracted debates that arise with every attempt to change the law.

As reporter Anita Beaumont explains today in a moving piece on the painful last days of young Hunter woman Jayde Britton, the advocacy group Dying With Dignity is gathering signatures for an online petition supporting a proposed "voluntary assisted dying" Bill from Independent Sydney MLA Alex Greenwich.

Death, no matter how it comes, is something most of us want to avoid.

SHE WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN: That was how Abbey Egan described her partner, Jayde Britton, pictured here, who died of cervical cancer in October 2018.

Voluntary euthanasia, regardless of the method, is in essence a form of suicide, and while attitudes to suicide have varied over time and between cultures, the act of taking one's own life has historically been viewed askance.

Religious scruples might be steadily receding in Australia as we move to more secular ways of life, but death - or in this case, bringing it about more quickly than might otherwise be the case - remains one of society's great taboos.

While "traditional" morality is demonstrably at the centre of most opposition to euthanasia law reform, two other worries stand out.

One is the obvious potential for abuse, especially of the old and the frail.

The other, more amorphous, concern, relates to the boundaries of euthanasia: who should have access, and for what reasons?

CAMPAIGNER: Abbey Egan at home in Islington, and backing the advocay group Dying With Dignity and its campaign to have voluntary assisted dying made legal in NSW. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

And would legal protection for voluntary assisted dying lead to people opting out of situations from which they may recover?

Such issues have been debated back and forth around the world in the modern era, but only a small number of jurisdictions - including a few European countries, Canada and some US states - have legalised any form of euthanasia or assisted suicide.

'OPTING OUT' OF LIFE. A SNAPSHOT:

• Most NSW voters support euthanasia law: poll
  
• The opposing view: no 'dignity' in euthanasia, says Catholic academic
  
• Euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke and Catholic bishop at odds over Qld laws
  
• Berejiklian opposes Greenwich push
  
• NZ passes dying law
  

In Australia, legislation was passed in Victoria in 2019, while Western Australia's Voluntary Assisted Dying Act takes effect later this year.

The Northern Territory legalised euthanasia in 1996 but the federal government - with powers over territories, but not states - quashed the Act the following year. Tasmania, South Australia and NSW have all debated assisted dying Bills, but failed to pass them.

Mr Greenwich says momentum is with the movement, and Dying With Dignity has collected 15,000 of the 30,000 signatures it is seeking in an online petition.

For some, Mr Greenwich's draft legislation cannot come soon enough.

ISSUE: 39,528

THE MESSAGE: A Dying With Dignity protest outside Parliament House in Sydney.

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