Euthanasia now legal in Victoria, Australia

This article is more than 12 months old

Jun 20, 2019 06:00 am

MELBOURNE: Terminally ill Australians can apply to end their life, after new laws went into effect in the state of Victoria yesterday.

The country's second most populous region made voluntary euthanasia legal, a first for the country.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews - who supported the bill after his father's death from cancer in 2016 - said the laws were about giving patients a "dignified option at the end of their life". He added that he hoped it would bring people the dignity of a "good death".

Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries and was illegal in Australia until Victoria state introduced laws to legalise the practice in 2017.

The scheme will be applicable only to terminally ill adult patients with fewer than six months to live - or one year for sufferers of illnesses such as motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. - AFP