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Euthanasia a step too far

3/11/2017

5 Comments

 
Picture
Daniel Mulino explains why he’ll be voting against the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill. ​

By Daniel Mulino
​Labor MP for Eastern Victoria Region


MANY of us have dealt with end of life situations that were difficult and distressing.  To experience extreme physical or psychological pain – or to witness the suffering of a loved one – prompts many people to ask: “Why can’t we do more?”  “Why can’t we offer better options?”

Euthanasia and assisted suicide have long been proposed as a compassionate way to end suffering.

I believe that, while the impulse to relieve people of suffering is completely understandable, the framework proposed in the Bill currently before Victorian Parliament will cause more harm than good.

I was a member of the Legislative Council Committee that examined this issue.  The potential for very complex situations to arise towards the end of life was reinforced by hundreds of written submissions and direct evidence provided to the committee by individuals experiencing terminal illnesses. 

For many proponents, the key argument in favour of euthanasia and assisted suicide is the importance of respecting individual choice in the way that a person wishes to end their life.

I believe that euthanasia and assisted suicide are not simply a matter of whether to give effect to an individual’s choice about their own treatment.  These practices necessarily involve third parties, usually medical practitioners, in acts that will intentionally result in death.  As such, acts of euthanasia and assisted suicide move from the purely private realm into the public realm. 

Therefore, we should consider not just the potential benefits for people who seek an end to their suffering but also balance this against the risk that many more people will be put at risk of coercion, pressure and unscrupulous behaviour.

While not all pain can be managed, it can be managed in the vast majority of cases and the proportion of cases in which pain can be managed is constantly increasing.  Experts in palliative care, oncology and related fields almost unanimously agree that almost all symptoms arising from physical pain at the end of life can now be managed.  Palliative care and oncology experts who gave evidence to the Inquiry stated that, over long careers, the number of people expressing a desire to have their life shortened was very small.

Even where there is an expressed desire to die, it is critically important to understand the nuances of such requests.  Where the person making the request is experiencing depression or a mental illness, which is relatively common, there are usually other treatment options worth exploring.  Holistic palliative care and other forms of assistance can often provide effective relief, even if not complete, and can often lead to a reversal in the expressed desire.

In practice, euthanasia and assisted suicide are a disproportionate response that cause far more social harm than good.

It concerns me that the number of instances of euthanasia and assisted suicide is growing rapidly in all major jurisdictions where it is legal.  This has been occurring for almost two decades in some jurisdictions.  The usage of euthanasia and assisted suicide in practice is far out of proportion to the situations that were originally used to justify the practice in these jurisdictions: namely, that small minority of cases where the symptoms of pain are unmanageable.

Moreover, the rapid growth in documented cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide probably materially understates the actual prevalence of the practice.  There is a widespread failure of safeguards and procedures across jurisdictions, including doctor shopping; a failure to diagnose and treat depression; a failure to consult appropriate specialists; and low rates of reporting. 
While legalisation was supposed to bring what was occurring in the shadows into the light, legalisation in these jurisdictions has simply pushed the boundary of what is legal out further and may have increased the amount of activity that occurs beyond the sight of regulators.

In countries with legalised euthanasia or assisted suicide, many vulnerable people are being placed in difficult situations in which they have to make irreversible, complex choices under a great deal of pressure.  Evidence suggests that it is doubtful that safeguards are working as intended for such people.

I support treating people experiencing pain with compassion.  But the evidence is clear that safeguards in euthanasia and assisted suicide regimes are difficult to design and enforce and that many people end up making irreversible choices that could have been avoided with access to higher standards of medical and palliative care.

MPs in the Upper House last night voted 22-18 in favour of a second reading of the bill.  Debate on amendments will start on November 14 when MPs are next in Parliament, with several MPs seeking a reduction in the life expectancy time limit from 12 to six months.

This one’s for Ray: Bass MP Brian Paynter on why he supports the legislation.
​
Life and death: MP for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing on her support for voluntary assisted dying.
5 Comments
Libby Lambert
4/11/2017 07:58:59 am

Your arrogance in taking this stance appals me. I ask you to nurse your mother for 6 months while she dies of colon cancer and watch the agony she had to endure, and then tell me, that the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill isn't a good thing. Voting no to this bill is tantamount to endorsing state approved torture. At the very least, you could abstain from voting. Please show some compassion !!!

Reply
Frank W Schooneveldt
4/11/2017 08:07:32 am

My cousin in Holland was diagnosed with cancer that had riddled her body and was given two years to live. She was in extreme pain and suffering that can come with an incurable disease so she saw two doctors to obtain permission so that she could die at the time of her choosing. Permission was granted and she had the comfort of knowing when the time the pain become unbearable she was able to end it.
Elizabeth Kluber Ross in her book on death and dying said that it is a privilege to know when you are going to die and so it was for my cousin.
She could say her goodbyes to friends and family on her terms.
One morning she woke up and said to her partner that today was a good day to die. She gathered her family together said her goodbyes and died very peacefully.
Her partner said it was a beautiful death.
A right to die on our own terms with the right safeguards in place like the Dutch the proposed Victorian legislation is timely. Please support the bill.



Reply
N
4/11/2017 08:46:36 am

I understand Mr Mulino is entitled to his view, but also shouldn't he be reprsenting the views of the majority of his voters. I cared for my 90 year old mother so she cou,d stay in her own home. At her insistence I continued working my job as she was a fiercly indpendant woman. I came home from work to find she had unsuccessfully tried to take her own life by taking an overdose ofpills and cutting her wrists. A sight I will never forget. My mother passed away 13 months later and that was no where near as sad as the event 13 months prior and watching her endure the time betwen these events. Where is his compassion for others?

Reply
Liane Arno
5/11/2017 08:02:44 am

I watched my mother in law die. This is what I believe she experienced,
"I just want to die. I don’t say this out of melancholy. I have had a good life. I have travelled the world. Had more wonderful experiences than most and have had not only a caring marriage but many treasured friendships and associations. My life has been rich. But now, I am weary. I have lived many long years and tonight I long for rest.
A short while ago I fell. Neither I, nor my doctor, is sure whether my hip broke and I fell, or I fell and broke my hip. Bones are brittle at my age. I now wonder why I agreed to have a hip replacement but it was always on the stipulation that I would not be resuscitated if I died during surgery. Those wishes were ignored. I wonder whether I should have had the words, “Do not resuscitate”, on my now bony chest to make sure that the well-meaning surgeons understood – but I did not. I died on the operating table and should have stayed that way. We all know I have now only a short time left.
And so tonight I live in pain. I lie in a hospital bed where my family visit to comfort me. A physio therapist comes to try and get me to walk on my new hip but all I feel is pain. I try to speak to my family but my words do not come out as I want them to. I see them trying to understand what I am saying – but I can’t form the words. The nurse grabs what she can of my shrunken belly to drive a needle into the flesh to give me an injection to prevent me from getting deep vein thrombosis. The pain radiates through my body and almost makes me vomit. Why must I endure this?
If I was able I would be able to take my own life. I could haul a rope from the rafters, or stick a hose in the exhaust from my car, or take the shotgun from its rack in the gun safe. But I am too feeble to do this. Too feeble to take the steps that I took in caring for my own pets when they were close to death and in pain.
I read the well-meaning words of politicians who do not wish me to die as their faces shine with health and optimism from the pages of the Bass Coast Post. Tonight I long for rest.

Reply
N Smith
5/11/2017 09:54:12 am

Very, very sadly this is such a common story. These people deserve better and there is an opportunity to take the first step in this process. Also, sadly, we have to rely on the goodwill of politicians as the initial starter. I feel your pain Liane.

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