Victoria’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017
Sean Murphy*
Introduction
On 19 April, 2018, the legislature of the State of Victoria, Australia, passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017, which will come into force in June, 2019. It is currently the most restrictive euthanasia/assisted suicide (EAS) legislation in the world, running to 130 pages. In brief, the law authorizes physician assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, but permits euthanasia by physicians only when patients are physically unable to self-administer a lethal drug. In both cases a permit must be obtained in advance. The main elements of the law are set out below, followed by consideration of its protection of conscience provisions. . . [Full Text]