MEDIA
Proposed Euthanasia Drug Regime "Second Rate"
The release of details of the drugs to be used to end the life of those qualifying under proposed Victorian euthanasia legislation has been strongly criticised by pro- euthanasia advocacy group Exit International.
In a special report in The Age this week it was revealed that rather than legalise the best end of life drug, the barbiturate, Nembutal, the Vic government plans to "create legal concoctions of approved pharmaceuticals" to be used instead.
These mixtures of morphine, valium, b-blockers and anti-convulsant drugs (see below) are a second rate choice recently developed in the US where a recent x20-fold increase in the cost of Nembutal has made the use of this drug prohibitive for all but the most wealthy of dying patients.
However, in Australia where the use of Nembutal under Victoria's euthanasia/ assisted dying law would be covered by the PBS, cost is not and never will be an issue. "Dying patients are never going to be asked to personally pay for the drug, and one's private health insurance has no role" said Dr Nitschke from Amsterdam.
"The use of the inferior 4-drug combination, just because its various ingredients area already available on prescription, is not a good reason to sanction its use as part of the new Victorian law", he said.
For Nembutal to be used in Australia, doctors would simply need to source the drug from the same European distributers used by the Dutch, the Belgians, Luxembourg and the Swiss, and then have the TGA certify its use.
Nitschke said that the Victorian plan to opt for a second rate cheap drug concoction rather than offering those seeking a peaceful death the best, was "miserly and disappointing".
"Twenty years ago we took considerable time to research the best end of life drugs. We chose pentobarbital for use under the NT euthanasia law. In doing so we joined every other country who adopted assisted suicide legislation uses this same drugs".
For Nitschke the use of a second-rate drug combination is the final straw for a law that is already so heavily safeguarded (a concession to the Christian lobby) that very few people will ever qualify to use it.
Already the number of hoops the terminally ill will be forced to jump through is unrealistic. These people are dying. They are likely to be physically at the end of their tether, and psychologically terrified at having to confront death head on. The arduous qualification process laid out in the Victorian legislation will only heighten their suffering. "In my mind it amounts to needless torture of already vulnerable people, all so the nay-sayers against free choice are satisfied at the legislative level".
Dr Nitschke said that he expected there would continue to be a strong and growing demand by the elderly to access Nembutal illegally over the Internet as this is the only way that an elderly person's choice can be guaranteed. He said he expected this illegal trade to grow and be unaffected by the passage of Victorian legislation.
Contact:
Exit Legal Tash Russell: 0420 499 656 or Dr Philip Nitschke: 0407 189 339
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