{"id":6638,"date":"2019-12-06T17:18:41","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T08:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exitinternational.net\/?p=6638"},"modified":"2019-12-06T17:18:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T08:48:41","slug":"wa-assisted-dying-laws-pass-through-upper-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euthanasia.net\/exit\/wa-assisted-dying-laws-pass-through-upper-house\/","title":{"rendered":"WA assisted dying laws pass through upper house"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The West Australian government is set to end the year with legislative victory after its euthanasia laws passed the upper house.<\/p>\n

Legislative Council MPs on Thursday voted 24-11 in favour of the bill, bringing to an end several months of heated and emotional debate.<\/p>\n

The upper house made more than 50 amendments during marathon debate of 184 clauses.<\/p>\n

Those amendments will now need to be signed off in the lower house, which will be recalled for a special sitting next Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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That is considered to be a formality given the Labor government’s control of the Legislative Assembly, paving the way for WA to become the second Australian state after Victoria to legalise voluntary assisted dying.<\/p>\n

It is a significant win for Mark McGowan’s Labor government after the Premier vowed to have the legislation passed by Christmas, a timeline that was supported by Opposition Leader Liza Harvey .<\/p>\n

The government’s leader in the upper house Sue Ellery said it was a proud moment for her and other advocates of the bill.<\/p>\n

“You don’t get many moments in a political career where something so abundantly right is actually possible to achieve,” she told reporters.<\/p>\n

“Real change is possible. You have to be persistent and you have to have the strength of your conviction to see it through.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Under the proposed laws, adults who are in pain and have less than six months to live – or one year if they have a neurodegenerative condition – will be able to take a drug to end their lives if approved by two medical practitioners.<\/p>\n

Doctors and nurses would be the only healthcare workers allowed to raise voluntary assisted dying with patients.<\/p>\n

The scheme is expected to come into force in about 18 months’ time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The West Australian government is set to end the year with legislative victory after its euthanasia laws passed the upper house. Legislative Council MPs on Thursday voted 24-11 in favour of the bill, bringing to an end several months of heated and emotional debate. The upper house made more than 50 amendments during marathon debate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n