Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Exposure Draft Bill 2014: Federal Euthanasia Bill
Monday 28 July 2014 @ 1.31 p.m. | Legal Research
Greens senator Richard Di Natale is circulating a bill to legalise euthanasia throughout Australia, the Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Exposure Draft Bill. It is currently open for submissions which close on 27 October 2014.
Current Situation
Currently, euthanasia performed with the intention of ending life is murder under the criminal law of every state in Australia. Administering pain relief without that intention, even though it is likely to shorten life, is probably not a crime. But a valid Commonwealth law legalising euthanasia would override state law.
In terms of the territories, the Commonwealth can already legislate for the territories under s 122 of the Commonwealth Constitution which gives them unlimited power over the territories, whether or not the territory in question criminalises euthanasia.
Contents of the Bill
The Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Exposure Draft Bill (Bill) is a porposed principal piece of Federal legislation relating to the provision of medical services to assist terminally ill people to die with dignity, and for related purposes
The key provision permits – subject to safeguards designed to ensure, among other things, informed consent – a medical practitioner to provide “dying with dignity medical services” to a terminally ill person who requests them. The bill defines “dying with dignity medical services” as services that enable a person to end his or her life in a humane manner.
Commonwealth Constitution Heads of Power
In s 6 of the proposed bill, the legislative basis for the power proposed in the bill seems to be indicated to lie within the Commonwealth Constitution's heads of power in s 51.
However, as The Conversation argues:
It may be objected that states have the power to define what is a medical service and what is a crime. Impermissible “medical services” tend to be crimes...It may be argued that the bill is not a law under the medical services power because euthanasia is not a medical service. Parliament cannot decide for itself what falls within the terms that define its powers, so it is not free to define for itself what falls within the term “medical service”.
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.
Sources:
Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Exposure Draft Bill as reproduced in TimeBase LawOne
Conversation Article - Explainer: could federal law end the state bans on euthanasia?
