An Open Letter

To: The Hon Mark McGowan, Premier & Members of Parliament of West
Australia regarding the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019
From: WA Faith Community Leaders
28th August, 2019

Dear Premier and Members of Parliament,

We, the undersigned leaders of faith communities in Western Australia, believe that the
decision that you make regarding the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 will be one of the
most far reaching decisions that you will make in your parliamentary careers.
We welcome the recommendations of the “End of Life Choices” Report relating to the
importance of improving the funding and availability of palliative care services in our State.
Modern palliative care, as a specialised field of medicine, has progressed to the point where
pain can be well controlled in all but the rarest cases. In those very rare situations palliative
sedation is available. Contrary to some media claims, the fact is that with best practice
palliative care, no one needs to die in excruciating pain.
It is said by proponents of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 that this legislation is
needed for the cases where pain can supposedly not be adequately controlled. Yet we note
with concern that the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 Section 15c (iii) does not require a
patient to be suffering physical pain to be eligible to access its provisions.
Better Care – Not Abandonment
Human dignity is honoured in living life, not in taking it. Even though an act to actively
terminate an ill person’s life may be motivated by a sense of compassion, true compassion
motivates us to remain with those who are dying, understanding and supporting them
through their time of need, rather than simply acceding to a request to have their life
terminated. It is right to seek to eliminate pain, but never right to eliminate the person.
Actively terminating a person’s life represents the abandonment of those who are in
greatest need of our care and support.
Mistakes and abuse are impossible to avoid
No ‘safeguard’ will ever guarantee that deaths under the proposed law will be completely
voluntary. There will always be a risk of error, fraud or coercion. West Australia abolished
the death penalty because we recognised that despite our best efforts, our justice system
could never guarantee that an innocent person would not be killed by mistake or by false
evidence. The same is true of health care. Mistakes happen. Many vulnerable persons are
exploited and coerced to do things not in their best interests, as has been borne out by the
Report of the Select Committee into Elder Abuse (Sept 2018). We ask you to consider
especially the risks to those whose ability to speak up for themselves is limited by fear,
disability, illness or old age.

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Government endorsed suicide
Endorsing terminating a terminally ill person’s life as a solution to their suffering sends a
confusing message to our community, where nearly one person a day opts for suicide as the
‘solution’ to their suffering. Aboriginal leaders such as Senator Patrick Dodson warn of the
negative impact legalising physician assisted suicide and euthanasia will have on efforts to
reduce indigenous suicide. Suicide is a tragedy that impacts not just the person whose life
is lost, but also their family and community. It would be counter-productive to legally
endorse any form of suicide when our governments and community groups are working so
hard to persuade others that it is not a solution to take their own life.
Undermining trust in our doctors
Once the fundamental principle to ‘do no harm’ and ‘never to kill’ is removed from medical
practice, the integrity of our health system is compromised. It will affect the confidence
that seriously ill patients nearing the end of life can have in the treatment and the quality of
care that they might otherwise have expected. When actively terminating one’s life is an
ever present – even if unspoken – option, how long will it be before the option becomes an
expectation, especially when it is a ‘treatment’ option that a doctor can suggest to a patient,
as is proposed in the Bill?
It is concerning that under the proposed legislation (Sec 26(j), a patient’s treating doctor
need not be informed that other doctors are processing a voluntary assisted dying request.
Given the prevalence of depression and mental health issues, we are concerned that there
is not an obligatory mental health assessment required as part of the application process, as
had been recommended by the Chief Psychiatrist in his evidence to the Parliamentary
Committee.
We conclude that the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 can only be supported if we believe
some lives are not worth living – a position we categorically reject.

We ask you all to reject this legislation which would give legal sanction to a doctor assisting
a person to commit suicide.
Yours sincerely,

Most Rev Timothy Costelloe SDB The Most Reverend Kay Goldsworthy AO
Catholic Archbishop of Perth Anglican Archbishop of Perth

(V.Rev) Fr. Abram Abdelmalek Pastor Steve Goods

Senior Parish Priest Seventh Day Adventist Church
St Mary & Archangel Michael Church President
The Coptic Orthodox Church WA Seventh day Adventist Church.

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Rabbi Daniel Lieberman Rev Jacob John
Chief Rabbi Vicar
Perth Hebrew Congregation Inc The Perth Mar Thoma Parish Inc

Bishop Michael Morrissey Mr Prem Singh Judge

Catholic Diocese of Geraldton President, Sikh Association of WA

Dr Rateb Jneid Mr Abdul Rahman Yahaya

President President
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Islamic Council of Western Australia

Mark Wilson Rev John de Jongh

Director of Ministries Christian Reformed Churches of WA
Baptist Churches of WA

Bishop Gary Nelson Bishop Mike Fulwood

Anglican Diocese of NW Australia Lutheran Church of Australia, WA District

Media contact: Rev Peter Abetz 0409 076 155