Time for euthanasia to be regulated

However, his information and guidance not only fills the regulatory gap left by politicians who refuse to act, it is also immensely comforting to the many thousands of Exit members in Australia and overseas who attend his workshops and read his books on end-of-life options.

Acting on Dr Nitschke's advice, thousands of elderly Australians, and many hundreds of Canberrans, have acquired their illegal drugs (imported or manufactured, and stashed well away from inquiring eyes) or other equipment. That's also why so many support him. People, including many average grandparents, need information on drugs now and cannot wait for politicians to legislate for voluntary euthanasia.

At Dr Nitschke's ACT workshop in mid-July 2014, about 115 Canberrans were thoroughly engaged for three hours. How did Exit try to mitigate risks at this workshop? Everyone signed disclaimer forms. Anyone who claimed to be over 50 but possibly was not, was approached by me, or others, and questioned.

This process is not a grilling but an effort to ascertain the nature of their interest, and whether their attendance could be regarded as suspicious or unusual. We blocked someone whose disclaimer form indicated they suffered a depressive illness a decade earlier, until emphatic assertions, including from their partner, that their condition was no longer present.

We have refused people entry to workshops and Exit membership when their eagerness to procure drugs bordered on the fanatical or their behaviour was otherwise peculiar. And I direct people to an appropriate medical professional if there are doubts about their mental state. Nonetheless, appropriate legislation would give society more certainty about what goes on.

Politicians, parliaments, assemblies and society have so far abrogated their responsibilities for regulating voluntary euthanasia. The onus is therefore on Exit and Dr Nitschke to screen those who may not be suitable for the information provided in his books and workshops.

This is not ideal because such screening cannot be perfect, especially in an unregulated environment. Consequently, given Ms Porter's and Mr Kennett's general support for euthanasia, I propose to outline some activities that they could undertake to further the euthanasia cause, and I would be happy to work with them to ensure this occurs. In this way, their concerns about Dr Nitschke's activities can be addressed.

In addition, it would be a good opportunity for Ms Porter to act on the information she obtained during her three-week European study trip examining euthanasia.

The Commonwealth's Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 prohibits the ACT from legislating for voluntary euthanasia. But, unsurprisingly, there are ways around this. One is an issue I first raised with then chief minister Jon Stanhope, and it was raised again by Queensland University of Technology law professor Ben White at a euthanasia forum organised by Ms Porter earlier in 2014.

It is possible under section 20 of the ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 that the ACT attorney-general could direct the ACT director of public prosecutions (DPP) on the circumstances under which the director should institute or conduct prosecutions for an offence.

For example, the DPP could be directed not to prosecute a physician for assisting with voluntary euthanasia, so long as various conditions are met, including that the patient be assessed for the absence of any depressive illness, or perhaps that the patient is terminally ill etc.

This is not legalising euthanasia. It is only specifying the conditions under which a person assisting with voluntary euthanasia would or would not be prosecuted. Given the minor penalties that have been given to elderly Australians who have assisted a terminally ill spouse or partner to die, this would be an understandable and reasonable direction to the DPP.