Brisbane, Australia, Sep 29, 2021 / 15:04 pm
The Australian state of Queensland has voted to become the fifth state in the country to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. The state’s Catholic bishops had strongly advised against the legal change.
Under the new law, Queensland residents ages 18 and over will have the right to seek euthanasia or assisted suicide if they have received a diagnosis with an expectation of 12 months or fewer to live, and are enduring suffering they consider “intolerable.”
Patients will have to be separately and independently assessed by two doctors, and must make three different requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide in at least nine days’ time, ABC reported.
The bill passed by a vote of 61-30 in parliament, after more than two days of debate.