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The Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 came into effect in 2019 after a prolonged and fierce public debate. Other Australian states soon followed, and legislation has now been passed allowing the territories also to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Although opposition persists in some quarters, VAD schemes now command broad acceptance — or at least, acquiescence — among both practitioners and the broader community.

It is possible that the uneasy equilibrium that has been struck among the multiple stakeholders will be disturbed in coming months by the review of the operation of the Victorian system mandated in the legislation. While the terms of reference of the latter do not explicitly mention it, one of the big issues that could require debate is the question of whether the law should be extended to include people with dementia.

This MJA Perspective shares more.

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Authors: Paul A Komesaroff, Michael Chapman, Geetanjali Lamba, Ian H Kerridge, Cameron L Stewart, Alex Holmes, Sophie Lewis and Jennifer Philip

Article Type: Perspective