I frankly hate living now in my 4th declining year of painful, exhausting and weakening aggressive Stage 4 cancer, regardless that I am *still* doing my best to be positive - and am trying my best to keep on living, regardless that laws in New South Wales are still cruel due Volunatary Assisted Dying legislation not going through last time the bill was introduced, due to self-centred uneducated, unempathic naysayers, who (*not* from there own personal experience) have *no* true idea that Palliative Care does *not* work for everyone.
And even if the current new bill for Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation frow New South Wales does go through, there'll be plenty more suffering for many, many more people until it can start.
I can't see how writing this is going to help me, but maybe there's some enlightenment and joy to be found from someone with good news about something I don't know about.
Sadly, we are not a socially *advanced* country like Switzerland, where (not including current covid restrictions) anyone from around the world can have Voluntary Assisted Dying if they meet their standards. Their laws are also not complex (unlike they apparently are for Victorians with their law), but are just as safe and sevure a process.
Yet our country prefers to bow to the cruetly required by the unempathic, uneducated, self-centrered politicians who vote no - believing that Palliative Care is all that everyone needs, but only having Palliative Care as an option is like being told you must keep on eating a neverending meal for the next few years. But if it's your favourite food, stuffing yourself for the sake of it -non-stop- is *not* "enjoying your meal", it's gluttony, it's getting sick from eating too much. It's quantity, as opposed to quality.
It's pathetic and extremely cruel that someone has to have been a citizen of Victoria for 12 months before they can access Voluntary Assisted Dying. Yet, as a New South Welshperson, if I went to Victoria for a holiday, and I needed to go into hospital, I would be allowed to instantly get medical help as I am Australian.
Thus, my question: Western Australia was the next progressive state in Australia to legislate Volunatary Assisted Dying; thus, is that state's legislation open now? Is it open the rest of Australia, or does it have the same cruel exclusion of others?
My final question is: Tasmania only recently gained that progressive law, but sufferers have to wait for uneccesarily now for18 months of very slow clearance. But while that slowness is only acceptable through a social construct (as governments can do what they want, when they want), will the Tasmania legislation of Voluntary Assisted Dying be open to fellow Australians, or - again, are suffering people from the rest of Australia seen as 'others'?
I look forward to genuine care in this country (if I live long enough), not brown-nosing laws that are only passed because of a few inclusions into the law, like *not* including all Australians.
Oops, I keep forgetting this is Australia, which *still* has a very long way to go before equal respect is avaialbile to all people, (and animals and the envirinment, for that matter), not just to intruding ingenuine politicians who still allow aged abuse, sexism, ageism, various phobias against rainbow folk, racism, ignoring the rights of the first nations people, etc., etc.
Australia: the lucky country (*terms and conditions apply).
