Genealogy Forum UK

Doing some tracing of more modern cousins of my wife and ordered a death certificate from the Northern Territory.

I was gobsmacked to see he was a medically assisted suicide!!!

I had no memory of anywhere is Australia having voluntary Euthanasia so did some quick research.

The Northern Territory, like the Australian Capitol Territory, is not a State and its legislation, and therefore laws, can be squashed by legislation passed in the federal parliament.

In 1995 the Rights Of The Terminally Ill Act was passed by the Northern Territory legislature.

Three people used a Computer Controlled machine to commit suicide before the legislation was reversed by the federals.

A fascinating piece of Aussie history I was ignorant of.

Blimey Mark - you don't half unearth some stuff

It's a shame it's not more widely available!!
I mean if I was terminally ill, and there was no chance of recovery I would hope I'd be able to have the choice of euthanasia.
On the other hand if it isn't legal, I wouldn't want to put my nearest and dearest in the situation of maybe being done for manslaughter or even murder.

Just build or buy a suicide bag and use some inert gas. According to my coroner friend that is becoming very common. Painless and almost undetectable if you have somebody remove it after death.

Apart from the religious side of things the biggest problem with euthanasia is elderly or sick people being made to feel a burden and "volunteering" to undergo the process.

From what I see at work, it seems to me that the older generation today don't just do what they're told anymore. It used to be, that most elderly people would always do what the voice of authority told them, it's certainly not the case anymore - which is a good thing.

I'd like to see someone tell my 93 year old mom what to do. She knows lots of old black country expletives

Antie Em wrote:I'd like to see someone tell my 93 year old mom what to do. She knows lots of old black country expletives

I like the sound of your mom!! Hope I'm like that when I get to her age.