Page 493 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 17 February 2016
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Many who have experienced the death of their loved one or are concerned about the manner of their own inevitable or impending death believe that a conversation should commence in the community. My own experience some years ago was that of watching my mother die in a four-bed ward in an aged-care facility with no palliative care available and no choice. More recently, my experience was of being with my husband and his family while we sat with his dying father, thankfully afforded palliative care, and, again recently, with my daughter-in-law’s mother while she went from acute hospital to Clare Holland House.
Our territory’s population is ageing. The ACT has one of Australia’s fastest growing populations of people aged 60 and over, with numbers expected to increase to almost 20 per cent of the population by 2020. The challenge facing the ACT government now will only increase as the years pass and we need to respond to this challenge now so that people can receive the care and dignity they deserve at the end of their life. Furthermore, it is not only our territory’s population that is ageing; our world’s population is ageing much faster than ever before. According to the World Health Organisation, between 2015 and 2050 the proportion of the world’s population over 60 will nearly double, from 12 to 22 per cent. Furthermore, by 2020 the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than five years.
As many know, I undertook a study tour to research aspects of the law and practice in relation to end-of-life issues in three countries in Europe—Switzerland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium. The latter two have legislated for voluntary euthanasia, and Switzerland has amended the penal code to allow assisted suicide. I learnt about the long history of discussions and debate that had taken place in relation to these issues in these places before the penal code was changed and before legislation was introduced. I also learned about emerging debates in relation to calls to amend the legislation, particularly in Belgium. Some of these amendments have passed parliament since I left. On my return, I decided to promote a conversation about these issues in relation to end of life, having been encouraged by those I met who, no matter what side of the debate they came down on, urged that I should champion these discussions, avoiding polarisation of the debate and facing these issues with respect and courage.
As many know, I hosted two end-of-life forums to enable conversations to be all-inclusive and constructive ones. I found that if you bring people together and work with them by setting out a foundation of facts for discussion, allowing open dialogue and building on common ground, much progress can be achieved. I am pleased that well-regarded academics from here in the ACT and interstate were willing to give their time pro bono to set the legal and ethical framework for the discussions, and I thank them very much for that. Participants from a wide range of organisations and professions across the community, as well as members of the public, attended the forums and were invited to discuss three simple questions. What kind of end-of-life experience do you want for yourself and your loved ones? Faced with a growing older population, is the ACT prepared to respond to calls by many to have more choice when facing their death? What recommendations and/or statements would you have this forum make to the ACT government?
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