Press Release: New Anscombe Paper Exposes Australia’s Slippery Slope of Euthanasia

A new Briefing Paper by Professor David Albert Jones, Bioethicist and Director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford, has exposed the extent to which Australian jurisdictions have, in a very short period of time, seen the ‘slippery slope’ of extended euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) from what was originally intended.

Although Australia has only five years of official data for the State of Victoria, and there is less than three years of data in most Australian jurisdictions, Committees examining Bills in both the Holyrood and Westminster Parliaments have chosen to focus on Australia rather than on North America (e.g. Oregon and Canada) or Europe (e.g. Belgium and the Netherlands). The evidence these Committees have heard has also been wholly one-sided. No witnesses were called who were critical of the emerging practice in Australia.

Professor Jones points out that while there is limited evidence from Australia, the little that is available is troubling. There is clear evidence that Australian States are moving down a ‘slippery slope’ away from a system of assisted suicide as practised in Oregon, which is concerning enough, and towards the widely-criticised situation of euthanasia in Canada. This should give Parliamentarians great pause for thought in simply accepting Australia as giving the UK an example of a working framework for assisted suicide.

The Anscombe Centre has also recently released a video of the Anscombe Memorial Lecture given by Professor Trudo Lemmens in February, Death as Therapy: Unravelling Canada’s Assisted Dying Regime. This shows how Canada’s system of euthanasia has expanded and led to inhumane outcomes.

Professor Jones said:

‘I hope this report will open people’s eyes as to just how quickly safeguards have been eroded or abandoned in Australia. Rather than an example of the law working well it is an example of what happens when you prioritise access over safety. The practice of Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in Australia is rapidly coming to resemble Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada. It is important for Parliamentarians in the United Kingdom to realise that once you legalise some form of assisted suicide or euthanasia you open the door to later expansion affecting more people and open to more abuse.’

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Notes to Editors:

• Any part of the above can be quoted as coming from our Director, Professor David Albert Jones.
• For more information, please see the Centre’s full Guide on ‘Assisted Dying’ (euthanasia and assisted suicide) which includes a guide to the latest evidence concerning EAS internationally, the Centre’s series of briefing papers on EAS since 2021 of which the above paper is the latest, and videos on subjects relating to EAS.
• If the issues discussed here affect you or someone close to you, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK and ROI), visit their website or contact them on: jo@samaritans.org
• If you are reporting or writing about a case of death by suicide, whether assisted or non-assisted, please consult the Samaritans’ media guidelines on how to do so responsibly.
• For more information on the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, see our website: www.bioethics.org.uk
• For interviews or comment, contact: media@bioethics.org.uk