- OPEN LETTER TO PREMIER KENNETT 1995 -

In 1995 a group of Melboume doctors published an open letter to the Victorian Premier. They said:

For the sake of all of those who may be unfortunate enough to be trapped in suffering and anguish, we ask you to put an end to the uneasy hypocrisy of our law and to allow us to work without fear of prosecution.

Each of us who has signed this letter has personal experience of treating terminally ill people whose condition has moved them to ask for assistance in suicide and each of us has, on occasion, after deep thought and lengthy discussion, helped such a patient to die.

We declare this now in public, knowing that this declaration may be construed in the State of Victoria as an admission of a criminal offence. We do this because we believe passionately that this state's law on the assistance of suicide is wrong and because those who continue to support the law have failed to recognise the reality of our work.

We have assisted patients to end their lives and we know others who have. We believe that we have acted in the best tradition of medical ethics, offering our patients relief from pain and suffering in circumstances where it would have been an act of cruelty to deny them. We respect life. All of our professional training and work deepens that respect. However, the reality is, that there are some patients who are beset by physical and mental suffering which is beyond the reach of even our most sophisticated efforts at control. When such patients clearly and repeatedly express a rational plea for help, it is out of respect for them that we have felt compelled to act.

The Northern Territory did act in response to patients and doctors in this situation and this bill would allow them to do so again.

As I said in the last debate, I hope that we can move to a discussion that goes beyond the questions of sanctity of life, with which we all agree, beyond the slippery slope arguments and the individual religious and high moral ground and get down to some of the real issues about dying.

Signatories (7) Doctors Rodney Syme, Darren Russell, Andrew Buchanan, Norm Roth, David Burnstein, Pat Scrivenor and Dr Sam Benwell (recently retired GP).
Dated Saturday March 25, 1995.

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