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Archbishop warns on euthanasia bill
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| 4 July, 2010 |
Public opinion may well be in favour of euthanasia but that still “doesn’t make
it right”, said Archbishop Adrian Doyle, Archbishop of Hobart.
“As a society, we must be respectful of the sacred nature of human life and having this mistaken sense of compassion isn’t certainly respectful of human dignity,” he said.
Concerns have been raised about the Tasmanian Greens’ influence on the State Government’s euthanasia stance given that what is supposedly meant to be a private member’s bill on the issue has been raised in the Attorney-General’s Budget reply speech – and thereby appears to be giving Government endorsement to legalising euthanasia.
Greens leader Nick McKim’s Dying with Dignity Bill was resoundingly defeated in the Lower House last November.
“I am concerned by the fact that despite being rejected less than a year ago by the Parliament of Tasmania, that the Attorney-General (Lara Giddings) has chosen to raise this issue again in conjunction with Mr McKim,” said Archbishop Doyle.
“There are many consequences for all Tasmanians, especially those working in the health and aged care industries with the previous Private Member’s Bill failing to adequately address these wider concerns.
“It is concerning that there is a perception in our community which claims that euthanasia as being a dignified death, promoting the premise that any other avenue of death is “undignified” and euthanasia (or medical assisted suicide) as the only method of a dignified death.
“I am equally concerned that the Attorney General will use the resources of her office to push this Bill when there are so many more issues which are a higher priority, such as mental health, welfare, hospital and housing waiting lists and education.”
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Tasmanian director Nick Overton said legislation to legalise euthanasia – and thereby put at risk the lives of vulnerable elderly and sick people – has now been “thoroughly examined and defeated twice in Tasmania in recent years”.
“It seems extraordinary that Attorney-General Lara Giddings should now be bringing it forward again within a Budget Reply speech where she is clearly not acting as a private member, even though that is the capacity in which she suggests she will be working on this issue,” he said.
“The ACL is opposed to legalising euthanasia, as we are to many of the other priorities the Attorney-General raised in her Budget Reply speech, such as progressing a charter of rights, introducing surrogacy laws and reforming sex industry laws – particularly if that means legalising brothels and causing harm to women caught up in the industry.”
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