Big Support for Euthanasia

Added by David Sandercock on March 17, 2011

A recent poll has shown that more than 40 percent of Australians would choose euthanasia if they suffered a terminal illness and only had weeks to live.

The research, that involved 2,505 people, was commissioned by Alzheimer’s Australia (AA) and has shown that many Australians would prefer to have a choice at the end of their lives.

“Many Australians obviously want more choice in terms of advanced directives and making decisions about where they die, whether they want to have antibiotics, whether they want to be force fed, whether they want to be hydrated, within the current law,” said AA Chief Executive, Glenn Rees.

Rees said there is also a large number of people who are interested in other options, like euthanasia.

53 percent of those asked said they would want their care directives to include an option to “refuse all treatment even if this meant they would die sooner.” 42 percent said they would “take the option of euthanasia if available.”

Euthanasia is currently not legal in any Australian state or territory. Mr Rees said that his organisation does not have a view on euthanasia per se, but that they believe that people should be better informed about the issues surrounding it.