
Queensland and "Voluntary Assisted Dying"
On March 31, 2020 the Queensland Parliamentary Committee which carried out an Inquiry into “Voluntary Assisted Dying” tabled their Findings and Recommendations.
During the year prior to the tabling of the report there had been 41 hearings held with 535 witnesses appearing and 4 729 written submissions were made. Many of the witnesses and submissions spoke eloquently of the problems and dangers that would come with legalizing “voluntary assisted dying (VAD)”. (For one thing, it was pointed out to the Committee that recipients of VAD don’t just die but rather, they are deliberately and directly killed by the administration of poison. It should be called “voluntary assisted killing (VAK)” but presumably that sounds too harsh, too honest).