Dying with Dignity A.C.T could not be more pleased to see the introduction of VAD in A.C.T. Indeed, some of our members have been campaigning on the issue for many decades.
We acknowledge that the ACT Government has given us legislation which is an improvement over that of other Australian jurisdictions.
DWD ACT wants to also acknowledge the many politicians who attempted, with the help of advocates, to overturn the “Territory Rights Ban” across the course of many years, leading to Senator David Pocock’s success on the issue in 2022.
In practical terms, we understand a good number of medical staff have undertaken the training to be VAD practitioners and congratulate the ACT Health VAD Task Force for their implementation.
We especially welcome the statement by the Director of Advocacy of Uniting Church NSW/ACT that “Residential aged care facilities are people’s homes, and older people who live in residential aged care [should] have exactly the same rights as people who live in the community.”
We note the findings of a YOUGOV survey last year that showed most people of religious faiths supported voluntary assisted dying, despite opposition by some church hierarchies.
Further, DwD ACT has found that there is strong support in the ACT community for persons with Dementia and other neuro-degenerative diseases to be given access to VAD at a time of their choosing. But it is far from clear that this will happen.
The VAD Act does require VAD practitioners to respect ‘an individual’s autonomy in relation to end of life choices’, and to provide treatment to ‘minimise suffering’ and ‘maximise quality of life’.
We are hopeful that VAD practitioners will give due weight to individuals end-of-life preferences and so give earlier access to VAD for persons with Dementia and other neuro-degenerative diseases at a much earlier stage than is available in any of the States.
Sam Delaney
President, Dying with Dignity ACT