Who is Eligible for Voluntary Assisted Dying? Nine Medical Conditions Assessed Against Five Legal Frameworks

51 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2022

See all articles by Ben White

Ben White

Queensland University of Technology - Faculty of Law

Lindy Willmott

Queensland University of Technology - Faculty of Law

Katrine Del Villar

Queensland University of Technology

Jayne Hewitt

Griffith University - Griffith Law School

Eliana Close

Queensland University of Technology

Laura Ley Greaves

Queensland University of Technology

James Cameron

Victorian Government - Department of Health and Human Services

Rebecca Meehan

Independent

Jocelyn Downie

Schulich School of Law & Faculty of Medicine

Date Written: 2022

Abstract

Eligibility criteria in voluntary assisted dying legislation determine access to assistance to die. This article undertakes the practical exercise of analysing whether each of the following nine medical conditions can provide an individual with access to voluntary assisted dying: cancer, motor neurone disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, anorexia, frailty, spinal cord injury and Huntington’s disease. This analysis occurs across five legal frameworks: Victoria, Western Australia, a model Bill in Australia, Oregon and Canada. The article argues that it is critical to evaluate voluntary assisted dying legislation in relation to key medical conditions to determine the law’s boundaries and operation. A key finding is that some frameworks tended to grant the same access to voluntary assisted dying, despite having different eligibility criteria. The article concludes with broader regulatory insights for designing voluntary assisted dying frameworks both for jurisdictions considering reform and those reviewing existing legislation.

Note:
Funding Information: Ben White is a recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project number FT190100410: Enhancing End-of- Life Decision-Making: Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying) funded by the Australian Government.

Conflict of Interests: We disclose that Ben White and Lindy Willmott were engaged by the Victorian, Western Australian and Queensland Governments to design and provide the legislatively mandated training for doctors involved in voluntary assisted dying. Jayne Hewitt was the project manager for the Victorian training project and Rebecca Meehan, Laura Ley Greaves and Eliana Close were employed on the project. Eliana Close and Katrine Del Villar were also employed on the Western Australian and Queensland training projects. James Cameron was a Senior Legal Policy Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services (Victoria) and developed and implemented the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic). Rebecca Meehan is an employee of Queensland Parliament, but this article only represents her views. Jocelyn Downie was a member of the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on End-of-Life Decision-Making, a member of the plaintiffs’ legal team in Carter v Canada (Attorney General) [2015] 1 SCR 331, a member of the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying and a member of the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying.

Keywords: voluntary assisted dying, health law, legal frameworks, medical conditions, reform

JEL Classification: I, I1, I19

Suggested Citation

White, Ben and Willmott, Lindy and Del Villar, Katrine and Hewitt, Jayne and Close, Eliana and Ley Greaves, Laura and Cameron, James and Meehan, Rebecca and Downie, Jocelyn, Who is Eligible for Voluntary Assisted Dying? Nine Medical Conditions Assessed Against Five Legal Frameworks (2022). University of New South Wales Law Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1, 2022, Griffith University Law School Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4172556

Ben White (Contact Author)

Queensland University of Technology - Faculty of Law ( email )

Level 4, C Block Gardens Point
2 George St
Brisbane, QLD 4000
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/whiteb/

Lindy Willmott

Queensland University of Technology - Faculty of Law ( email )

Level 4, C Block Gardens Point
2 George St
Brisbane, QLD 4000
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/willmott/

Katrine Del Villar

Queensland University of Technology ( email )

2 George Street
Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Australia

Jayne Hewitt

Griffith University - Griffith Law School ( email )

Nathan Campus, GU
Nathan 4111
Australia

Eliana Close

Queensland University of Technology ( email )

2 George Street
Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Australia

Laura Ley Greaves

Queensland University of Technology ( email )

2 George St,
Brisbane, QLD 4000
Australia

James Cameron

Victorian Government - Department of Health and Human Services ( email )

Melbourne
Australia

Rebecca Meehan

Independent ( email )

Jocelyn Downie

Schulich School of Law & Faculty of Medicine ( email )

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4H9
Canada

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