Community Campaigns
NSW seeks dignified pathway towards assisted dying
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) welcomes the introduction of a draft bill to the NSW parliament today, which aims to give those suffering from terminal and incurable illnesses the ability to die with dignity.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said nurses and midwives had expressed support for a compassionate law to be introduced in NSW for many years.
“In light of the latest voluntary assisted dying bill, drafted by Independent MP Alex Greenwich, we surveyed our members and found the majority agree people suffering from a terminal illness should have choice,” said Mr Holmes.
“Of the 2,561 survey respondents, over 83% indicated having professional experience in providing care to adults diagnosed with a terminal illness. Over half of those respondents said they had been asked by a terminally ill patient for assistance to end their life.
“This is a topic that comes up for a majority of these nurses in their day-to-day practice.”
The survey also revealed almost 87% of respondents supported the introduction of legislation similar to laws passed in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland.
Earlier this year, NSWNMA delegates endorsed an updated position supporting legislative change, noting the nine previous attempts to introduce voluntary assisted dying laws in NSW.
“Nurses and midwives have a duty of care to patients, and we acknowledge people with a terminal or incurable illness should have the right to choice at the end of their life,” added Mr Holmes.
“We understand not everyone agrees with voluntary assisted dying, but we will support members who exercise their conscientious objection, and this has been accommodated in the draft bill. Our membership is diverse and all their opinions are respected.
“This legislation ensures everyone has access to palliative care options and we will continue to demand proper resourcing, including the availability of suitably qualified nurses. Nurse Practitioners and registered nurses who choose to participate in voluntary assisted dying must be provided with education and protection for their work.
“Like everyone, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the debate, but we encourage all parliamentarians to support this important legislative reform.”
You will need to continue to advocate for palliative care because the people you think will benefit from the euthanasia law will almost certainly die before their application and dispensing of medication actually happens. They will likely have to wait 3 months between medical assessments by 2 doctors and then wait weeks for the prescription. People who are terminally ill and who it would be believed would benefit from euthanasia won’t be alive that long. Plus most of those that might will not meet the criteria ie dementia /frailty. The only people who might benefit are those with motor neurone diseases. Advocate for better provision of palliative care, more health professionals able to give high quality palliative care, more experts who know how to manage symptoms. The right knowledge and excellent support works. I’ve seen it way more times than I’ve seen terrible deaths. I’m sad that we as a society think a quick death is the way it should be. I think there’s way more to this than just ending someone’s life.