This debate is about passing a Bill that protects the vulnerable - or about leaving them exposed to pressure, abuse and loss of autonomy ... The fact that no parliament has passed such a law is striking evidence of the breadth of the opposition - something that even Hippocrates expressed thousands of years ago when he said: "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect." One of the arguments is "its already happening, so we should regulate it"... If a person is willing to disregard a law which says lethal injections are never allowed, why will they be constrained by a law which says lethal injections are sometimes allowed? Euthanasia legislation sends a powerful message to the community that the vulnerable are expendable and not valued.
Kevin Andrews, Liberal, Member for Menzies, Victoria.
sponsor of the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996.
I am vehemently opposes to all forms of state-sanctioned killing, be they the death penalty, euthanasia or even so-called "just" wars... What is it that (is) taking the attention of this parliament? I believe it is fear - fear that death will come painfully; a pain which cannot be ameliorated; a disease that will take away a persons dignity and humanity. Euthanasia ... sometimes sounds like the perfect remedy for those fears. What could be better? But things are never as easy as they seem at first. Terminal illness may come in many guises and suffering in many forms.
Leo McLeay, ALP, Member for Watson, NSW.
If the proponents of euthanasia are allowed to have their way we will enter an age of great social uncertainty. A time when no-one will be certain of their future, particulary if they become ill or infirm. It will inevitably determine the future social conscience and attitude toward the unwell, the elderly and the disabled.
Noel Hicks, NPA, Member for Riverina, NSW.
To sanction the legal termination of one person by another, however sick and distressed the patient or however well meaning or medically qualified the person carrying out the termination, is to cheapen human life beyond all acceptable levels.
Janice Crosio, ALP, Member for Prospect, NSW.
I was trained to be a healer and a carer and I know that it is quite wrong to argue that to legalise euthanasia is the only way to ensure death with dignity ... It is for the disadvantaged, the disabled and the vulnerable that the provision of euthanasia introduces a dangeraous uncertainty when they are least able to cope... I also have concerns for non-English speaking patients... The long term implications of legalising execution through the agency of the healing profession does more than undermine the doctor-patient relationship. It fundementally changes the moral underpinning of the care giving services in our society. These are fundemental and national concerns and it is only right that they are decided by the national parliament ... I commend this bill to the parliament.
Trish Worth, Liberal, Member for Adelaide, SA.
I am most concerned that people who have become a burden on their family and their friends will feel pressure, or even feel obliged, to choose the euthanasia option rather than continue to put family and friends through their own pain and suffering ... Once we allow euthanasia to become acceptable, what sort of committment can we expect from governments in the area of funding palliative care? Are we to become a society that has decided it is cheaper and easier to force people to press "yes"? To those who say "This is a matter only for Territorians", I simply say that there is such a thing as a one-way ticket to the Northern Territory.
Joel Fitzgibbon, ALP, Member for Hunter, NSW.
I am troubled by euthanasia because I think it is virtually impossible to prevent abuses and mistakes and because I think it is virtually impossible to justify offering the option of assisted suicide to one category of people when you deny it to others. That is a necessary implication of the Northern Territory legislation.
Lindsay Tanner, ALP, Member for Melbourne, Victoria.
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