Go Gentle welcomes 'significant' doctor statement on assisted dying
The Australian Medical Association (AMA)'s new statement on Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) is a significant change that will transform care for dying people.
It is the first update to the AMA's official position on VAD in almost a decade.
"This is a significant change that will have wide-reaching impact," said Go Gentle Australia's CEO, Dr Linda Swan. "It provides clarity and clears up any confusion about the legitimate role VAD plays in the end-of-life conversation."
Voluntary assisted dying allows a dying person who is suffering in the final stages of life to ask their doctor for medication to help them die.
In the statement, the peak professional body for doctors says 'end-of-life care encompasses a variety of health services... including VAD', a recognition that VAD is legally available in all Australian states and will be implemented in the ACT in November 2025. The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction where VAD remains unlawful.
The statement stresses that doctors have an ethical duty to provide end-of-life care 'that strives to alleviate pain and suffering, supports an individual's values and preferences for care, and allows them to achieve the best quality of life possible'.
The updated position supports doctors and patients who choose to participate in VAD services, as well as those who do not.
"It is an incredibly important step in reducing the stigma that still exists around the VAD choice," Dr Swan said. "It reassures doctors and service providers that their peak professional body has their back should they decide to offer VAD care.
"For patients, it means that many more doctors will feel confident talking about VAD in the context of their end of life."
The document was developed in consultation with AMA members, AMA state and territory offices, AMA councils and committees, and Palliative Care Australia. It includes a call for reform of the Commonwealth Criminal Code to allow for telehealth in VAD services, for the benefit of patients who are too remote or too sick to travel for face-to-face consultations.
“The AMA have been supportive of change to the Commonwealth Carriage Act for a long time, but the difference is that now that they’ve got the consensus of their membership behind them that VAD is a legitimate health service at the end of life, and that we should be offering this as an option for people if they’re suffering,” said Dr Swan.
The AMA said the statement was an overarching ethical framework for VAD rather than a prescriptive document addressing state-level issues such as eligibility criteria or operational issues.
“It aligns with the AMA’s 2023 position statement on issues arising at the end of life, which establishes policy on end-of-life care, including palliative care services and funding, advance care planning, decision-making capacity, groups with diverse needs, grief and bereavement, carers, and health workforce and system development,” the statement says.
The statement also stressed the importance of palliative care, and the right to conscientious objection, as well as the need for a trained, appropriately remunerated workforce.
Read the AMA position statement here.
Read more about the statement and the AMA's call for VAD services via telehealth in the Medical Republic.