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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Voluntary Euthanasia Bill 2007
A BILL FOR
An Act to provide for the administration of medical procedures to assist
the death of a limited number of patients who are in the terminal phase of a
terminal illness, who are suffering unbearable pain and who have expressed a
desire for the procedures subject to appropriate safeguards; and for other
purposes.
Contents
1 Short
title
2 Commencement
3 Objects
4 Interpretation
5 Request for
administration of voluntary euthanasia
6 Procedures to be observed in the
making and witnessing of requests
7 Form of request for voluntary
euthanasia
8 Revocation of request
9 Register of requests for voluntary
euthanasia
10 Registrar's powers of inquiry
11 Administration of voluntary
euthanasia
12 Person may decline to administer or assist the administration
of voluntary euthanasia
13 Protection from liability
14 Restriction on
publication
15 Report to coroner
16 Cause of
death
17 Insurance
18 Offences
19 Voluntary Euthanasia Monitoring
Committee
20 Annual report to Parliament
21 Regulations
Schedule 1—Current request for voluntary
euthanasia
Schedule 2—Certificate of
confirmation
Schedule 3—Report to State Coroner
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Voluntary Euthanasia
Act 2007.
This Act will come into operation 6 months after the date of assent or on
an earlier date fixed by proclamation.
The objects of this Act are—
(a) to give a limited number of competent adults who are in the terminal
phase of a terminal illness and who are suffering unbearable pain the right to
make informed choices about the time and manner of their death;
(b) to ensure that people who have voluntarily requested euthanasia can
obtain appropriate and humane medical assistance to hasten death;
(c) to ensure that people who may want to request euthanasia are given
adequate information before making their request (including information about
palliative care) and are not subject to duress or other undue pressure to make a
request;
(d) to ensure that the administration of euthanasia is subject to other
appropriate safeguards and supervision;
(e) to recognise the right of medical practitioners and other persons to
refuse to participate in the administration of euthanasia.
(1) In this Act—
adult means of or above the age of 18 years;
certificate of confirmation—see
section 11(1)(e);
medical practitioner has the same meaning as in the
Medical Practice Act 2004;
palliative care specialist means a medical practitioner who
is registered on the specialist register under the Medical Practice
Act 2004 and whose principal area of practice is the provision of
palliative care;
Registrar—see section 9(2);
terminal illness has the same meaning as in the Consent to
Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995;
terminal phase of a terminal illness has the same meaning as
in the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care
Act 1995;
voluntary euthanasia means the administration of medical
procedures, in accordance with this Act, to assist the death of a terminally ill
person.
(2) Despite any other Act or law, a person is only terminally
ill for the purposes of this Act if—
(a) the person is in the terminal phase of a terminal illness;
and
(b) the illness is causing the person to suffer pain which the person
finds unbearable and which cannot be alleviated to a degree the person finds
acceptable by pain relief methods offered to the person.
(3) For the purposes of this Act a reference to a request for voluntary
euthanasia will be taken to mean a request for voluntary euthanasia made in
accordance with this Act.
5—Request
for administration of voluntary euthanasia
(1) An adult person of sound mind who is terminally ill may make a request
for voluntary euthanasia.
(2) However, before such a request is made, and subject to
subsection (3), 2 medical practitioners acting independently must
fully inform the person of—
(a) the diagnosis of the person's illness; and
(b) the prognosis of the person's illness; and
(c) the forms of treatment that may be available to the patient and the
respective risks, side effects and likely outcomes of such treatments;
and
(d) the extent to which the effects of the illness could be mitigated by
appropriate palliative care; and
(e) the proposed voluntary euthanasia procedure, risks associated with the
procedure and feasible alternatives to the procedure.
(3) If a medical practitioner providing a person with information in
accordance with subsection (2)(d) is not a palliative care specialist, the
medical practitioner must, if reasonably practicable, consult a palliative care
specialist about the person's illness and the extent to which its effects may be
mitigated by appropriate palliative care before giving the person this
information.
6—Procedures
to be observed in the making and witnessing of requests
(1) A request for voluntary euthanasia must be made in the presence of the
following witnesses (who must be assembled together at the time the request is
made):
(a) the medical practitioners referred to in section 5(2);
(b) 2 other adult witnesses (not being persons related to the person
making the request).
(2) Each witness must certify that the person who made the
request—
(a) appeared to be of sound mind; and
(b) appeared to understand the nature and implications of the request;
and
(c) did not appear to be acting under duress.
(3) Each witness who is a medical practitioner must also
certify—
(a) that he or she complied with the requirements under section 5;
and
(b) that he or she, having examined the person who made the request for
symptoms of depression immediately before the request—
(i) has no reason to suppose that the person is suffering from treatable
clinical depression; or
(ii) if the person does exhibit symptoms of depression—is of the
opinion that treatment for depression, or further treatment for depression, is
unlikely to influence the person's decision to request voluntary
euthanasia.
7—Form of request
for voluntary euthanasia
(1) A request for voluntary euthanasia must be made in writing in the form
prescribed by Schedule 1.
(2) However, if the person making the request is unable to write, the
person may make the request orally in which case the form—
(a) must be completed by either or both of the witnesses present in
accordance with section 6(1) on behalf of the person in accordance with the
person's expressed wishes; and
(b) must, instead of the person's signature, bear an endorsement signed by
each witness to the effect that the form has been completed by the witnesses in
accordance with the person's expressed wishes.
(3) If practicable, a request for voluntary euthanasia that has been made
orally must be recorded on videotape.
(4) The Registrar must be notified in writing of the making of the
request, and a copy of the completed form must be attached to such
notification.
(1) A person who has made a request for voluntary euthanasia may revoke
the request at any time.
(2) A written, oral, or other indication of withdrawal of consent to
voluntary euthanasia is sufficient to revoke the request even though the person
may not be mentally competent when the indication is given.
(3) A person who, knowing of the revocation of a request for voluntary
euthanasia, deliberately or recklessly fails to communicate that knowledge to
the Registrar is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
9—Register
of requests for voluntary euthanasia
(1) The Minister must maintain a register of all requests for voluntary
euthanasia (the Register).
(2) The Minister must assign a suitable person (the
Registrar) to administer the Register.
(3) If the Registrar is satisfied that a person has made a request for
voluntary euthanasia, the Registrar must register the request in the
Register.
(4) If the Registrar is satisfied that a request for voluntary euthanasia
has been revoked, the Registrar must register the revocation in the
Register.
(5) The Registrar must, at the request of a medical practitioner who is
attending a terminally ill patient—
(a) inform the medical practitioner—
(i) as to whether a request by the patient for voluntary euthanasia is
registered in the Register; and
(ii) if such a request is registered—
(A) as to whether a revocation of the request is registered in the
Register; or
(B) as to whether the Registrar has been notified of a revocation, or
purported revocation, of the request but has not yet registered the revocation
in the Register; and
(iii) of any other information held by the Registrar that may be relevant
to the administration of voluntary euthanasia to the patient; and
(b) if a request by the patient for voluntary euthanasia is registered in
the Register and no revocation of that request is registered in the
Register—give the medical practitioner a copy of the registered
request.
(6) The Registrar must, at the request of the Commissioner of Police,
provide the Commissioner with any information held by the Registrar that may be
relevant to a specified request for voluntary euthanasia.
(7) No fee may be charged in respect of a duty of the Registrar under this
section.
(8) The regulations may prescribe conditions for access to the
Register.
10—Registrar's
powers of inquiry
(1) The Registrar may conduct an inquiry to determine whether information
recorded, or proposed to be recorded, in the Register is correct.
(2) The Registrar may, by notice given to a person who may be able to
provide information relevant to an inquiry under this section, require the
person to answer specified questions or to provide other information within a
time and in a way specified in the notice.
(3) If a person is required under subsection (2) to answer specified
questions or to provide other information to the Board, the Board may require
that the answers or information be verified by statutory declaration and, in
that event, the person will not be taken to have answered the questions or
provided the information as required unless it has been verified in accordance
with the requirements of the Board.
(4) A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notice
under subsection (2) is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
11—Administration
of voluntary euthanasia
(1) A medical practitioner may administer voluntary euthanasia to a
patient if—
(a) a request by the patient for voluntary euthanasia is registered in the
Register; and
(b) the medical practitioner has made a request for information to the
Registrar under section 9; and
(c) there is no revocation of the request registered in the Register, and
there is no reason to believe that there has been a revocation, or purported
revocation, of the request that has not been registered in the Register;
and
(d) the patient has not expressed a desire to postpone the administration
of voluntary euthanasia; and
(e) since the time of the patient's request for voluntary euthanasia,
another medical practitioner who is not involved in the day to day treatment or
care of the patient has personally examined the patient and has given a
certificate in the form prescribed by Schedule 2 (the certificate of
confirmation) certifying—
(i) that the patient is terminally ill; and
(ii) that—
(A) there is no reason to suppose that the patient is suffering from
treatable clinical depression; or
(B) if the patient does exhibit symptoms of depression—the medical
practitioner is of the opinion that treatment for depression, or further
treatment for depression, is unlikely to influence the patient's decision to
request voluntary euthanasia; and
(f) at least 48 hours have elapsed since the time of the examination
referred to in paragraph (e).
(2) A medical practitioner may only administer voluntary euthanasia by 1
or more of the following methods:
(a) by administering drugs in appropriate concentrations to end
life;
(b) by prescribing drugs for self-administration by a patient to allow the
patient to end his or her life;
(c) by withholding or withdrawing medical treatment in circumstances that
will result in an end to life.
(3) In administering voluntary euthanasia, a medical practitioner must
give effect, as far as practicable, to the expressed wishes of the
patient.
(4) A method of administering voluntary euthanasia referred to in
subsection (2) must, as far as practicable, result in an end to life that
is humane and painless.
12—Person may
decline to administer or assist the administration of voluntary
euthanasia
(1) A medical practitioner may decline to carry out a request for the
administration of voluntary euthanasia on any grounds.
(2) However, if a medical practitioner who has the care of the patient
declines to administer voluntary euthanasia, the medical practitioner must
inform the person that another medical practitioner may be prepared to consider
the request.
(3) A person may decline to assist a medical practitioner to administer
voluntary euthanasia on any grounds without prejudice to the person's employment
or any other form of adverse discrimination.
(4) The administering authority of a hospital, hospice, nursing home or
other institution for the care of the sick or infirm may refuse to permit
voluntary euthanasia within the institution but, if it does so, must take
reasonable steps to ensure that the refusal is brought to the attention of
patients entering the institution.
A medical practitioner who administers voluntary euthanasia, or a person
who assists in the administration of voluntary euthanasia, incurs no civil or
criminal liability by doing so.
A person must not publish by newspaper, radio, television or in any other
way, a report tending to identify a person as being involved in the
administration of voluntary euthanasia, unless—
(a) the person consents to the publication; or
(b) the person has been charged with an offence in relation to the
administration or purported administration of voluntary euthanasia.
Maximum penalty: $5 000 or imprisonment for 1 year.
(1) A medical practitioner who administers voluntary euthanasia must make
a report to the State Coroner within 48 hours after doing so.
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
(2) The report—
(a) must be in the form prescribed by Schedule 3; and
(b) must be accompanied by—
(i) the request for voluntary euthanasia; and
(ii) the certificate of confirmation.
(3) The State Coroner must forward to the Minister copies of the reports
made under this section and the accompanying materials.
(1) For the purposes of this or any other Act or law, or for any other
purpose, the death of a person resulting from voluntary euthanasia will be taken
to have been caused by the patient's illness.
(2) For the purposes of any other Act or law, or for any other purpose,
the death of a person resulting from voluntary euthanasia is not suicide or
homicide.
(1) An insurer is not entitled to refuse to make a payment that is payable
under a life insurance policy on death of the insured on the ground that the
death resulted from the administration of voluntary euthanasia.
(2) A person is not obliged to disclose a request for voluntary euthanasia
to an insurer, and an insurer must not ask a person to disclose whether the
person has made a request for voluntary euthanasia.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(3) This section applies despite an agreement between a person and an
insurer to the contrary.
(1) A person who makes a false or misleading representation in a request
for voluntary euthanasia or other document under this Act, knowing it to be
false or misleading, is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
(2) A person who, by dishonesty or undue influence, induces another to
make a request for voluntary euthanasia is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
(3) A person who makes a false or misleading statement to the Registrar in
a relation to a revocation, or purported revocation, of a request for voluntary
euthanasia, knowing it to be false or misleading, is guilty of an
offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
(4) A person convicted or found guilty of an offence against
subsection (1) or (2) forfeits any interest that the person might otherwise
have had in the estate of the person who has made the request for voluntary
euthanasia.
19—Voluntary
Euthanasia Monitoring Committee
(1) The Minister must establish a committee to be called the Voluntary
Euthanasia Monitoring Committee (the Committee).
(2) The Committee will consist of no more than 8 members appointed by the
Minister of whom—
(a) 1 must be a person nominated by the South Australian Branch of the
Australian Medical Association Inc; and
(b) 1 must be a person nominated by The Law Society of South Australia;
and
(c) 1 must be a person nominated by the Palliative Care Council of South
Australia Inc; and
(d) 1 must be a person nominated by the South Australian Voluntary
Euthanasia Society Inc; and
(e) 1 must be a person nominated by the South Australian Council of
Churches Inc; and
(f) 1 must be a person nominated by Disability Services SA.
(3) The functions of the Committee are—
(a) to monitor and keep under constant review the operation and
administration of this Act; and
(b) to report to the Minister, on the Committee's own initiative or at the
request of the Minister, on any matter relating to the operation or
administration of this Act; and
(c) to make recommendations to the Minister regarding—
(i) amendments to this Act; or
(ii) improvements to the administration of this Act,
which, in the opinion of the Committee, would further the objects of this
Act.
(4) The Minister must provide the Committee with a copy of each report
received from the Coroner under section 15(3).
(5) A member of the Committee holds office on such conditions and for such
term as the Minister determines.
(6) A member of the Committee is entitled to such allowances and expenses
as the Minister may determine.
(7) Subject to directions of the Minister, the Committee may conduct its
business in such manner as it thinks fit.
20—Annual report
to Parliament
On or before 30 September in each year, the Minister must make a report to
Parliament on the administration and operation of this Act during the year that
ended on the preceding 30 June.
(1) The Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or as
are necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) the regulations
may—
(a) create offences punishable by a fine not exceeding
$10 000;
(b) make provisions facilitating proof of the commission of offences
against the regulations.
