Nightingale Alliance® Euthanasia Opposition - Resources, End of Life Alternatives

The Australian government cites the federal Censorship & Customs legislation as its authority in banning the importation of Derek Humphry's suicide manual, Final Exit.

1995

The 25 member Parliament of Australia's remote Northern Territory voted to legalize "voluntary" suicide.

1996

The Parliament of the Northern Territory of Australia passed a bill providing necessary enacting amendments to the original bill legalizing "voluntary assisted suicide." The amendments were necessary to ensure the law could be implemented. An effort to repeal the original law was defeated by pro-euthanasia votes in the parliament. The "Rights of the Terminally Ill Act" is the only euthanasia measure in the world ever passed by a parliament.
A bill was introduced in Australia's Parliament House of Representatives that would repeal the Northern Territory euthanasia law. The bill would make it impermissible for the Australian Territories to enact laws allowing euthanasia of assisted suicide.
Robert Dent, an Australian man with prostate cancer is the first to die under the Northern Territory law permitting voluntary euthanasia. He died by lethal injection triggered by an intravenous line hooked up to a computer, developed by Dr. Phillip Nitschke.
The Australian High Court adjourned the application for special leave to appeal from the decision of the Northern Territory Supreme Court upholding the Northern Territory's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. The Court said that it would not hear the matter while a bill was before the Federal Parliament to override the Territory's legislation. If that bill passed into law, there would be no NT law for the Court to rule on.
Australia's House of Representatives, adopted a bill to set aside the Northern Territory's euthanasia law, which went into effect in July. The national parliament could overturn laws in the territories, but not in its sic states.

1997

Janet Mills, 52, of Australia is the second person to use the Northern Territory euthanasia law in Australia. She was supervised by Dr. Phillip Nitschke, as she self-administered the drugs that killed her. She had a rare form of skin cancer - mycosis fungoides.
A 69 year-old man became the third person the use the Northern Territory "Rights of the Terminally Ill Act." The only detail released was that he had stomach cancer.
A 70 year-old woman from Sydney, Australia, became the 4th person to use the Northern Territory's Assisted suicide law. Dr. Phillip Nitschke assisted her death by lethal injection. Her family requested that no other details be given.
Legislation in Australia to overturn the world's first euthanasia laws passed the Senate, overriding the Northern Territory law.

1998

Australian physician Philip Nitschke admitted that he had assisted in 20 suicides. All were videotaped just before death, but not the process of dying. The Australian Medical Association urged authorities to begin an investigation.

1999

Dr. Phillip Nitschke, often referred to as Australia's Dr. Death, held the first ever three-day Euthanasia Advisory Clinic in Melbourne. He dispensed information on lethal drugs and ways to obtain them.

2000

Dr. Phillip Nitschke was granted permission to establish "death advice clinics" in the state of Tasmania. He had eight terminally ill patients lined up to take advantage of his services. Since "advising, counseling, or assisting" persons in assisted suicide in Australia is illegal, he stated that he could offer advice on how to attain a "peaceful escape" without actually assisting in the patients suicide.

2003

Legislation to legalize an 18 month medically-supervised trial of voluntary euthanasia failed but activists vowed to continue the fight.
Euthanasia advocates held a workshop to teach people how to commit suicide using do-it-yourself death machines.

Posted on February 21, 2005.