RIGHT TO DIE: THE CORNERSTONE OF A DIGNIFIED SOCIETY

Abstract

On 25 October 1999 I tried to kill my mother. It would have been a mercy killing. Like many Australian families, we had discussed the issue at length: “If I lose control of my faculties, put me down like a dog”. But when Mum was in agony, dying from pancreatic cancer, the law was against us. Nurses and doctors refused to help for fear of litigation; palliation was ineffective. In this article, I explore the successful models of voluntary euthanasia around the world, and why Tasmania is Australia’s best hope. I counter the assertion by legal scholar and philosopher Professor John Finnis that ‘prohibition of intentional killing is the cornerstone of a civil, safe and functional society’ and instead argue that our current legal framework will prove increasingly inadequate with our ageing population. Fundamentally, the right to die is our greatest human right. It must be respected.