Bulletin 5: Scope of PAD and Safeguards

31st March 2008

There are clear procedures and strict safety provisions in the Medical Treatment (Physician Assisted Dying Bill 2008. In summary:

• The sufferer must be an adult, bona fide resident of Victoria.
• The sufferer must be currently mentally competent to make decisions about their medical care.
• The sufferer must have a terminal or advanced incurable disease with no reasonable prospect of recovery and with intolerable suffering.
• The sufferer must make a written request for assistance without any undue influence.
• The sufferer must be fully informed of available treatments, palliative care and their likely effects.
• Two experienced, independent doctors must agree on the diagnosis, prognosis, suffering and be satisfied the request for assistance is genuine and not the result of undue influence. (Heavy penalties apply for attempting to apply undue influence.)
• If the disease is an advanced incurable one but not terminal, a psychiatric assessment is also required.
• There is a formal documentation process and record trail.
• There is a cooling off period and a second written request must be made.
• Then and only then if all steps have been followed, the doctor may provide a prescription for a lethal drug dose that the sufferer may ingest to die peacefully. Injections are not permitted.
• Coroner's annual summary report goes to Parliament to monitor deaths under the Act.

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