Concerns over drafting inconsistencies within the Dying with Dignity Bill 2009
have been presented to Members of the House of Assembly in a detailed
submission from the Law Society of Tasmania.
The submissions are based on the legislative drafting including
inconsistencies within the Bill, whether the Bill will accomplish its aims and
how the Bill fits within the Tasmanian legislative framework generally. The
comments don’t take a stance on the Bill from a moral point of view.
There will be members of the Law Society with widely divergent religious and
ethical views on the appropriateness or otherwise of euthanasia. The Society
does not seek to address the question of whether or not euthanasia is
appropriate.
The Bill as it stands suffers from some fundamental drafting errors.
For example, the Bill provides that a person is not eligible for voluntary
assisted suicide solely because of a disability. The definition of disability
would be unique in Tasmanian law and it would encompass the very medical
conditions suffered by a person who might contemplate euthanasia.
The current law in Tasmania enables a competent patient to refuse
treatment.
The Society urges the media and those involved in the debate to clearly
distinguish between concern about withdrawal of treatment and active
intervention to promote death, which is represented by euthanasia.
Vice-President, Law Society of Tasmania, Anthony Mihal
