LE G I S LA TI V E A S S EM B LY FO R TH E AU S TR A LI A N CA PI TA L TER RI TO R Y SELECT COMMITTEE ON END OF LIFE CHOICES IN THE ACT Ms Bec Cody MLA (Chair), Mrs Vicki Dunne MLA (Deputy Chair) , Ms Tara Cheyne MLA, Mrs Elizabeth Kikkert MLA, Ms Caroline Le Couteur MLA. Submission Cover Sheet End of Life Choices in the ACT Submission Number : 191 Date Authorised for Publication : 29/3/18 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The Honourable Greg Donnelly MLC 9th March 2018 Committee Secretary Select Committee on End of Life Choices in the ACT Legislative Assembly for the ACT GPO Box 1020 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Dear Committee Secretary, RE: Inquiry into End of Life Choices in the ACT My name is Greg Donnelly and I am a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. As the Committee may be aware, late last year the New South Wales Legislative Council debated a bill that provided for physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. The bill was entitled the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017. The following link will take you to the webpage relating to the bill https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-detai1s.aspx?pk=3422. The bill was debated, voted on and defeated. As you would expect both MLCs and MLAs received a significant number of submissions and letters from organisations and constituents expressing serious concerns regarding the proposed legislation and calling on both Houses to unanimously oppose the bill. With respect to the submissions and letters, they dealt with both the broader concerns relating to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia legislation as well as particular deficiencies and shortcomings regarding the bill that was before the Parliament. In terms of this inquiry, what I thought may be useful to the Committee would be to provide it with a selection of documents outlining various concerns about the proposed legislation in New South Wales. Even though some of the comments related specifically to the particular bill being considered in this state before the Legislative Council, I believe the vast majority of reflections and considerations are directly relevant to the Australian Capital Territory inquiry. For ease of reference, I have placed the documents under particular subject headings. They are as follows: NSW Parliament Telephone: +61 2 9230 2280 Macquarie Street Facsimile: +61 2 9230 2585 Sydney NSW 2000 Mobile: Australia Email: Elder Abuse · 1. General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2 Elder Abuse in New South Wales Report No. 44 dated 24th June 2016 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/DBAssets/lnguiryReport/ReportAcrob at/6063 /Report%2044% 20-%2 0Elde r%2 0a buse%20in%20 New %20South %2 OW ales. pdf; 2. Australian Law Reform Commission Elder Abuse -A National Legal Response Final Report dated May 2017 https://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/elder abuse 131 final r eport 31 may 2017.pdf; 3. Newspaper articles: a. "Financial Abuse of Parents Growing" by Sue Williams -Sun Herald dated 27th August 2017 https://www.domain.com.au/news/financial-abuse-of-elderly­ pa rents-on-th e-rise-as-h ousing-becom es-m ore-u n afford ab Ie -201708 27- gy33zg/; b. "Australian Dream Becomes Nightmare for the Elderly" by Graham Hill -The Sydney Morning Herald dated 30th August 2017 (attachment two); and c. "Loved Ones Pose Biggest Threat to.Old People's Assets" by Caroline Overington -The Weekend Australian dated 9th-10th September 2017 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/loved-ones-pose-biggest­ th reat-to-old-peoples-assets/n ews- story/966cfe0e6dfdf 43044b5049ffd3638a l. Suicide Prevention l. NSW Parliamentary Research Service e-brief 03/2017 dated July 2017 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/Suicide%20preventio n.pdf. New South Wales Auditor-General's Report - Planning and Evaluating Palliative Care Services in NSW 1. The New South Wales Auditor-General released on 17th August 2017 an important report entitled Planning and evaluating palliative care services in NSW. The following link will take you to the report http://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/ publications/latest ­ reports/pa II iative-ca re. Submissions and Commentary on Proposed NSW Legislation l. Submission by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians regarding the Draft Voluntary Assisted Dying Bil(2017 dated July 2017 (N.B. the submission relates to the NSW draft bill) https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/advocacy-library/pa­ racp-subm ission-nsw-vad-bill-subm ission. pdf; 2. Submission by the St Vincent's Health Australia regarding the Draft Voluntary Assisted Dying Bi/12017 dated 14th July 2017 {N.B. the submission relates to the NSW draft bill) http://www.healthprofessionalssayno.info/uploads/1/0/9/2/109258189/svha nsw vol untary assisted dying bill submission final.pdf; and 3. Analysis ofthe Voluntary Assisted Dying Bi/12017 by State Member for Ku-ring -gai, Alister Henskens SC MP (attachment three). Media Articles 1. "So Much to Lose if we Allow Voluntary Assisted Dying" by John Watkins - The Sydney Morning Herald dated 14t h August 2017 http://www.smh.com.au/comment/so-much­ to-lose-if-we-allow-voluntary-assisted-dying-20170814-gxvivj.html. 2. "Why I'll Be Voting "No" to Assisted Dying Bill" by Walt Secord - The Sydney Morning Herald dated 2nd September 2017 http://www.smh.com.au/comment/why-ill-be­ voting-no-to-the-voluntary-assisted-dying-bill-2017-20170830-gy70p3.html; 3. "Euthanasia: Definition Matters" by Paul Russell - The Spectator Australia dated 4t h September 2017 https://www.spectator.com.au/2017 /09/euthanasia-words-matter/ ; 4. "Legalising Assisted Dying Would be a Failure of Collective Human Memory and Imagination" by Margaret Somerville - The Guardian Australia dated 20th September 2017 https://www.thegua rdian.com/ com mentisfree/2017 /sep/20/legal isi ng-assisted­ dying-wou Id-be-a-failure-of-col lective-h u man-memory-and-imagination; 5. "New York Courts Rule Against "Aid in Dying" and Warn of its Dangers" by Richard M. Doerflinger - The Public Discourse dated 29th September 2017 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2017 /09/20144/; and 6. "Paul Keating: Voluntary Euthanasia is a.Threshold Moment for Australia, and One we Should Not Cross" by Paul Keating - The Sydney Morning Herald dated 19t h October 2017 http://www.smh.com.au/comment/paul-keating-voluntary-euthanasia-is-a- th reshold-moment-for-a ustralia-a nd-one-we-shou ld-n ot-cross-20171019-gz412h. htm I. Academic and Journal Articles 1. "Unaddressed Issues in The Australian Euthanasia Debate" by Margaret Somerville dated 13t h March 2017 (attachment four); and 2. "Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide: An American College of Physicians Position Paper" by Lois Snyder Sulmasy, JD et. al. - published in the Annals of Internal Medicine dated 19th September 2017 http:/ / an na Is. org/ aim/ a rticle/2654458/eth ics-lega I ization-p hys ic ia n-a ssisted-su icide­ a m erica n-col lege-p hys icia n s-position-pa per. Helpful Websites There are two particular websites that provide reputable information relating to physicia n­ assisted suicide and euthanasia. The following links will take you to them: 1. HOPE: Preventing Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide - http://www.noeuthanasia.org.au/ ; and 2. Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - https: //www.epcc.ca/. Correspondence to NSW MLAs and MLCs 1. HammondCare dated 7th September 2017 (attachment five); 2. Dr Doug Bridge dated 11th September 2017 (attachment six); 3. Plunkett Centre for Ethics dated 12th September 2017 (attachment seven); 4. Associate Professor Ghauri Aggarwal dated 13th September 2017 {attachment eight); 5. Sydney Institute of Palliative Medicine dated 15th September 2017 {attachment nine); 6. Palliative Care New South Wales dated 15th September 2017 {attachment ten); 7. NSW Society of Palliative Medicine Inc. dated 18th September 2017 {attachment eleven); 8. Bishop Peter Comensoli, Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay dated 19th September 2017 {attachment twelve); 9. Archbishop Glenn Davies, Anglician Archbishop of Sydney dated 20th September 2017 {attachment thirteen); 10. Archbishop Anthony Fisher, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney dated 21st September 2017 (attachment fourteen); 11. The Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine dated 21st September 2017 {attachment fifteen); 12. Catholic Health Australia dated 26th September 2017 {correspondence no. 1) {attachment sixteen); 13. Health Professionals Say No! undated but received 27th September 2017 {correspondence no. 1) {attachment seventeen); 14. Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT dated 3rd October 2017 {attachment eighteen); 15. L J Goody Bioethics Centre dated 3rd October 2017 {attachment nineteen); 16. Lives Worth Living dated 3rd October 2017 {attachment twenty); 17. AMA National President, Dr Michael Gannon dated 6th October 2017 {attachment twenty one); 18. Ms Anna Walsh dated 6th October 2017 {attachment twenty two); 19. Chair of Calvary, The Hon. John Watkins AM dated 9th October 2017 {attachment twenty three); 20. The Australian Family Association dated 9th October 2017 {attachment twenty four); 21. St Vincent's Health Australia dated 10th October 2017 (attachment twenty five); 22. Catholic Health Australia dated 11th October 2017 {correspondence no. 2) {attachme_nt twenty six); 23. Palliative Care Nurses Australia dated 11t h October 2017 (twenty seven); 24. Health Professionals Say No! undated but received 12th October 2017 {correspondence no. 2) {attachment twenty eight); and 25. Mr Xavier Symons undated but received 13th October 2017 {attachment twenty nine). Other Material 1. Statement by Professor Theo Boer dated 16th July 2014 urging legislators to not support physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia legislation {attachment thirty); 2. "Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide:focus on the data" by Ezekiel Emanuel - Medical Journal of Australia dated 1st May 2017 {attachment thirty one); 3.