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South Australia Nearly Legalised Voluntary Euthanasia Last Night

The bill failed by one vote.

Image via Flickr user Alberto Biscalchin

South Australia almost passed what would have been a historic voluntary euthanasia law last night, and the bill only failed by one vote. In a long overnight sitting, the fate of the Death With Dignity Bill—introduced by Liberal MP Duncan McFetridge—was decided by conscience vote.

House speaker Michael Atkinson was forced to break a deadlock of 23 votes for and 23 votes against, after the bill managed to pass a second reading. Although euthanasia has been debated numerous times by South Australia's parliament in recent years, this is by far the closest it has come to becoming law.

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Speaking in parliament on Wednesday night, McFedtridge said voluntary euthanasia provisions would enable elderly cancer sufferers to peacefully end their lives. He argued that these people were the most likely candidates to make use of voluntary euthanasia legislation.

"We can be sure their situation is dire because any health professional will tell you, people will do anything to live," he said.

McFedtridge's bill imposed strict provisions on voluntary euthanasia. Only those suffering from terminal illness combined with unbearable pain would be eligible to request euthanasia, and they would need support from two doctors. An earlier bill put forward by McFedtridge this year had looser provisions, and didn't require patients to suffer a terminal illness.

One detractor of the legislation was Labor backbencher Tom Kenyon, whose stance was influenced by religious beliefs and concerns that security provisions were not strict enough. After hours of debate, more provisions were added to further restrict access to voluntary euthanasia, including a mandatory mental health assessment. These however failed to sway Kenyon and other dissenting MPs.

Voluntary euthanasia is illegal throughout Australia, although it was legal for a short period in the Northern Territory during the 1990s. While prosecution is rare, those assisting sick patients to suicide with drugs like Nembutal face criminal prosecution, including possible manslaughter convictions. Unassisted suicide is not criminalised in Australia.

While this law did not pass, it seems likely that South Australia's parliament will consider the voluntary euthanasia issue again in the near future. Speaking to ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday morning, Atkinson suggested the bill was jeopardised by the nature of late night debate, and that similar legislation would likely pass in a future parliamentary sitting if MPs were less tired and frustrated.

"It's a textbook example of bad legislative practice, to be considering this between 10 PM and 4 AM," he said. Follow Kat on Twitter