The NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Alliance is a group of organisations supporting the introduction of laws to allow terminally ill people the right to ask for medical assistance to end their lives, subject to strict safeguards.
We support the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) bill which has been introduced to NSW Parliament by Independent MP Alex Greenwich.
Independent polling consistently shows that an overwhelming majority of the community support VAD laws. Unfortunately, some people experience terrible suffering at the end of their lives, even with the best palliative care.
We believe that terminally ill people in New South Wales should have the same choices at the end of their lives as those living in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.
We support the guiding principle of autonomy as the first pillar of medical ethics and the right of competent adults to make informed decisions about their own medical care.
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws, with clear parameters and strict safeguards, allow eligible adults who are in the end stages of a terminal illness and suffering intolerably, to end their suffering at a time and place
of their choosing and in the presence of their loved ones, if they wish.
This legal assistance to die must be voluntary for both the person and healthcare professionals. No-one is compelled to participate.
