Terminally ill Melbourne man Martin Mahood chose to hasten his death under Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying law. "I wouldn't do this if I could recover - I'm doing it because I can't," he explained. "I would like to die with dignity and I would like to die as non-painfully as possible. "And I want to do it when I can make the decisions, not when somebody else is making them for me.” Speaking after his death in May, Martin's wife Geraldine said: "He was calm and at one point when he was dying he was almost happy. He had his family there. And as far as I’m concerned, I miss him, yes, but I’m glad for him that it happened in the way he wanted. "We all lose people we love in our life, and it's something one has to accept. "If you love people you have to be prepared to let them go when they've reached a point where life will be one of great pain and the loss of their ability to think for themselves." Read Martin's story on Go Gentle Australia's Testimonies page at gogentlaustralia.org.au/story-wall #assisteddying #endoflifechoice #euthanasia #humanrightsaustralia 
South Australia's Lower House has passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2020 33 votes to 11. After 16 previous attempts to pass such a law, SA is now on track to become the FOURTH Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying Because the bill was amended, it now returns to the Upper House for a final vote on a date to be decided. Congratulations to all who.made this historic moment happen Read more at gogentleaustralia.org.au 
This final, bonus episode of Better Off Dead centres on the vital importance of education. Almost two years into the operation of Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying law, people need to be informed about their legal options -- what their choices are, how to access them and where they can find help. "People come to this, often, late. And they come late because they really haven’t known about it, haven’t been told about it or are in a situation where they don’t want to face mortality." - VAD Review Board Chair Betty King QC The episode is a recording of a panel discussion with Andrew Denton, Dr Phillip Parente, terminally ill Victorian Ron Poole and Betty King @wheelercentre. It was first aired on ABC RN's Big Ideas. Listen to Better Off Dead - Last Words at the link in the bio Or wherever you get your podcasts #BetterOffDeadPod #AndrewDenton #AssistedDying #VoluntaryAssistedDying #Euthanasia #endoflifechoice 
The best palliative care in the world could not stop Matt Downey's pain and suffering. It also could do little to relieve the suffering of his family and friends as they watched him deteriorate from aggressive motor neurone disease. Matt's wife Kelli told the ABC: "I will admit, the kids and I are mentally scarred for the rest of our lives because of this." Before Matt's agonising death in 2017, Voluntary Assisted Dying had never crossed Kelli's mind. Now, the Queensland woman is a strong advocate. "Voluntary Assisted Dying is not taking someone's life, it's about giving them choice and freedom in some really, really awful circumstances." Read Matt and Kelli's story on the Testimonies page at gogentleaustralia.org.au #VoluntaryAssistedDying #AssistedDying #vad #Euthanasia #Health #HumanRightsAustralia 
The eligibility criteria and 68 safeguards in Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying law are among the strictest in the world. But are they too strict? “I am so encouraged by the existence of this legislation – but there is more we can do. We can do this better. It shouldn’t be so hard that people are tempted to give up.” - Kristin Cornell, father Allan, motor neurone disease Listen to episode 13 'Unintended Cosequences' of Better Off Dead, and the whole series at the link in the bio Or wherever you get tyour podcasts. @wheelercentre #betteroffdeadpod #AndrewDenton #VoluntaryAssistedDying #AssistedDying #VAD #Euthanasia #Health #humanrightsaustralia #itstime