Increasingly, jurisdictions around the world are considering legalising voluntary assisted dying ('VAD'). Beyond the question of whether to legalise VAD, a critical issue is what form the legislation should take. This impacts who has access to a medically assisted death, what kind of assistance can be provided, and the safeguards and monitoring systems in place.
In this episode of Coffee with a Colleague Dr Eliana Close speaks to Professor Thaddeus Mason Pope about aspects of the VAD legislation in Australia and the United States. They discuss how certain aspects of VAD legislation may compromise various policy goals, often due to political compromises. However, as VAD is legalised in more states, there are signs that some jurisdictions may be slowly moving away from a cookie-cutter approach to how the legislation is structured.
Watch the disucssion below.
For further reading see their articles:
• Thaddeus Mason Pope, ‘Medical Aid in Dying: Key Variations Among U.S. State Laws’ (2020) 14(1) Journal of Health & Life Sciences Law 25
• Ben White, Katrine Del Villar, Eliana Close & Lindy Willmott: ‘Does the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic) Reflect Its Stated Policy Goals?’ (2020) 43 (2) University of New South Wales Law Journal 1