Victorians who suffer from motor neurone disease will have access to physician-assisted death under wider-than-expected new laws to be introduced within months.
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And those who are physically unable to take a lethal pill will get alternative options – such as help to inject the drug or use of a feeding tube – in a bid ensure they are not discriminated against under the legislation.
In what will become the most contentious debate State Parliament faces ahead of next year's election, the Andrews government will soon unveil proposed laws giving some people with terminal illnesses the right to an assisted death under strictly defined circumstances.
While the details are still being finalised, Fairfax Media can reveal that people with motor neurone disease (MND) will be eligible to make such a request, giving them the same end-of-life choices as people with cancer or other serious incurable conditions.
The decision is likely to be welcomed by many affected by the disease, which weakens the nerve cells controling the muscles that enable people to function.
"It's like a thief in the night – it comes along without warning and steals your ability to walk, to talk, to breathe and to swallow. And eventually it steals your life," said MND Association of Victoria chief executive Rodney Harris.
"We want to ensure that whatever rights are created for people in Victoria, those rights are also usable by people with motor neurone disease."
The government's legislation is based on the work of an independent panel of experts headed by former Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler.
It is also expected that the law will set a clear time frame of 12 months to define what "the end of their life" means. This is slighter wider than what was suggested by the End-of-Life Choices parliamentary committee, which simply referred to "weeks or months".
One of the key safeguards is that the lethal pill prescribed by a doctor must be self-administered – to ensure the decision is voluntary – however the panel has acknowledged the fact that for some, such as MND patients, self-administration is physically impossible. It is understood the legislation will take this to account and provide alternative options.
"People with MND need more assistance than someone to just hand them a pill or hand them a glass of water. They may need someone to inject a drug if they can't swallow, or to actually put the drug into a feeding tube if they're using one," Mr Harris said.
The legislation is likely to introduced by mid-August, paving the way for a fiercely contested debate before being put to a conscience vote in both houses of Parliament. Under the reforms, Victorian adults who have decision-making capacity, are suffering from a serious and incurable condition, and are at "the end of their life" will be eligible.
While Premier Daniel Andrews, Health Minister Jill Hennessy, and most of cabinet are in favour of reforming the law, many in Parliament are not, including Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, deputy Labor premier James Merlino, and conservative crossbencher Rachel Carling-Jenkins.
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