The Commonwealth Criminal Code restricts the use of carriage services to access voluntary assisted dying in Victoria: a perspective
Kate Furness
A B * , Jim Howe A C , Mitchell Chipman A D E F G , Nirasha Parsotam A H I and Margaret O’Connor A D J
A Safer Care Victoria, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000, Australia.
B Department of Nursing and Allied Health, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, Hawthorn, Vic. 3122, Australia.
C School of Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
D School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
E Victorian Breast and Oncology Care, 166 Gipps Street, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.
F Alfred Health, 55 Commercial Road, Prahran, Vic. 3004, Australia.
G Epworth Health, 89 Bridge Road, Richmond, Vic. 3121, Australia.
H Health Innovation Program, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
I Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Asia-Pacific Region, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
J Melbourne City Mission Palliative Care, 230 Normanby Avenue, Thornbury, Vic. 3071, Australia.
Australian Health Review 47(1) 64-66 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22192
Submitted: 8 September 2022 Accepted: 12 November 2022 Published: 2 December 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.
Abstract
A major barrier to Victorians with a terminal illness accessing voluntary assisted dying is the Commonwealth Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) 2005 (the Code), which prohibits the use of any electronic forms of communication when discussing suicide. The proliferation of telehealth as a means of access to medical practitioners as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the anachronistic prohibition of such communication in relation to voluntary assisted dying, particularly in Victoria, as the federal law arguably prohibits its use. In this paper we explore the definition of suicide and its application to voluntary assisted dying and argue for a revision of the Code, to enable equitable and timely access to voluntary assisted dying for people of Victoria.
Keywords: telehealth, terminal illness, VAD, voluntary assisted dying.
References
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