Should voluntary assisted dying in Victoria be extended to people with dementia?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-05-20 16:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; ACT

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In a 'Perspectives' article, Australian experts discuss extending voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Victoria to include people with dementia, and say it raises serious philosophical, ethical and social questions that challenge the way VAD is currently understood, enacted and applied. They say such an extension would challenge the basic precepts of VAD as agreed in Australia, pose questions about the nature and effects of dementia itself, and generate concerns about possible wider implications, including the destabilisation of the fragile nationwide consensus that underlies VAD legislation. VAD in dementia would constitute a completely different entity from the current regime, they say, and debate about it should be welcomed but we should be prepared for the conversation to be lengthy and difficult.