Discussing Voluntary Assisted Dying

Abstract

One challenge for the legal provision of voluntary assisted dying is to ensure that the person requesting it is not coerced and has made the decision voluntarily. In the State of Victoria, Australia, s 8 of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic) provides that a health practitioner is prevented from initiating a discussion about voluntary assisted dying in the course of providing health services to a person. The aim of the provision was to avoid coercion or undue influence by a health practitioner. In this article we address the meaning and application of s 8 and consider whether in practice this provision might have the effect of excluding access for individuals who may have been interested in voluntary assisted dying but were never aware that this was an option for them.