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Labour MP Louisa Wall tables euthanasia Bill

Author
Felix Marwick,
Publish Date
Fri, 18 Nov 2016, 12:02PM
Louisa Wall says the bill is restrictive and only caters for people who have a terminal illness or unbearable, irreversible illness. Picture / Mark Mitchell
Louisa Wall says the bill is restrictive and only caters for people who have a terminal illness or unbearable, irreversible illness. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Labour MP Louisa Wall tables euthanasia Bill

Author
Felix Marwick,
Publish Date
Fri, 18 Nov 2016, 12:02PM

UPDATED 12.21pm: In an unexpected move, Labour MP Louisa Wall has tabled a draft Bill on Euthanasia, with a Parliamentary committee currently investigating the issue.

Ms Wall, with the support of law Professor Mark Henaghan, has undertaken the move at Parliament today.

Her Bill applies to terminally ill people only and would require all euthanasia applications to be handled by an ethics committee.

"You will have to front the ethic's committee, [which] provides an opportunity for the ethic's committee itself to determine whether somebody is going informed consent, and then it will be through that process that conditions are determined."

But she's making it clear she has no intention of putting it up as a Member's Bill, rather she's letting it sit with the Euthanasia Inquiry.

"My caucus colleges knew that I'd make a submission, knew that as part of my submission I said I would be tabling a Bill. We've done this in good will because we believe that this does provide a really clear mechanism for us to be able to assist people who want the authority to die."

Matt Vickers, the widower of Lecretia Seales, said it was great to see an MP from one of the two major political parties championing the issue.

"The possibility of two bills in the members' ballot, from Act and Labour MPs, along with the Greens adopting a party policy in support of assisted dying legislative change, has created a great deal of forward momentum," Vickers said.

"We're hopeful we'll see legislation before the House very soon."

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