Tasmania to push for mercy killing
Tasmania is poised to become the first state to legalise voluntary euthanasia and to allow “death with dignity” clinics to operate, according to a report in The Australian.
Premier Lara Giddings told The Australian that she was committed to working with the Greens to prepare a private member’s bill for voluntary euthanasia.
“The Leader of the Tasmanian Greens (Nick) McKim and I will continue to progress this initiative as private members and plan to issue a consultation paper towards the end of the year,” she said.
“At this stage, it is too early to say whether clinics like those being proposed by Dr Philip Nitschke would be appropriate in a Tasmanian context.”
Mr McKim, who is a member of cabinet under a power-sharing alliance with state Labor, stated his commitment to working with Ms Giddings on the bill. Their comments came after Dr Nitschke said plans for Australia’s first euthanasia clinic in Hobart or Adelaide were ready to go as soon as the first jurisdiction legislated for death with dignity.
