Required Reading

Lindy Willmott, Ben White and Katrine Del Villar, 'Voluntary Assisted Dying: Human Rights Implications for Australia' in Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan (eds) Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia: Volume 2 (Lawbook Co, 2021) 315-356 esp. 315-336, 341-356.

'Criminalisation of assisted suicide services unconstitutional' (Press Release No. 12/2020 of 26 February).

Questions

1. What is the distinction between 'passive' and 'active' voluntary euthanasia? Prior to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019(WA) coming into effect, what was the legal position in Western Australia with respect to 'passive' and 'active' voluntary euthanasia?
2. In what circumstances is 'active' voluntary euthanasia permitted under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017(Vic) and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 (WA)?
3. What are the implications of the right to life for the legalisation of assisted dying?
4. Explain the differences between the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights inPretty v United Kingdomon 'the right to private life and family life' (Article 8 ECHR), the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Carter v Canada (Attorney-General) on 'the right to liberty and security of the person' (section 7, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), and the judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court on the right to 'free development of his personality' (article 2(1), German Basic Law).
5. Overall, is there a human right to assisted dying? If so, in what circumstances should this right be recognised?