In a decentralised state such as Queensland,that legal uncertainty has prohibited doctors from using telehealth to support VAD patients in regional and remote areas.
Even in a smaller state such as Victoria,whereassisted dying is also available,doctors fear prosecution. One GP,Nicholas Carr,has asked the Federal Court to rule on the application of the code to VAD schemes.
In submissions to the court,lawyers for the federal attorney-general argue the offence was introduced in 2005 partly with doctors in mind,and the legal meaning of “suicide” had not changed.
“Although societal attitudes about suicide and assisted dying may have developed since 2005,this alone cannot demonstrate a substantial linguistic development by which the word ‘suicide’ no longer encompasses a person taking their own life in ways provided for in voluntary assisted dying legislation,” they wrote.
In response to Carr’s question to the court,lawyers for the attorney-general agreed the term “suicide” in the code does apply to end of life situations under Victoria’s VAD scheme.
“Accordingly,to the extent that those provisions purport to empower Carr to provide that information via a carriage service,they purport to authorise him to engage in conduct that the Code provisions would criminalise,” they wrote.
The case is ongoing. After Labor took power,Dreyfuspromised to review the issue – he will not comment before the case is concluded – and the issue remains on the agenda for the Standing Council of Attorneys-General.