Dr Ronli Sifris1
1Monash University
As of May 2022, all Australian States have legalised voluntary assisted dying. At the same time, all Australian States allow a health professional with a conscientious objection to refrain from participating in voluntary assisted dying, though the laws between the States are framed slightly differently.
This presentation will focus on the question of conscientious objection in the context of voluntary assisted dying. It will discuss qualitative empirical research aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the rationale and motivation for conscientious objection as well as determining the impact (if any) of conscientious objection on the operation of voluntary assisted dying in Victoria.
I have interviewed 13 Victorian health professionals with an interest in voluntary assisted dying. Of these health professionals, broadly speaking: 6 are supportive, 5 are opposed, and 2 were originally opposed and now support voluntary assisted dying. This binary categorisation of the perspectives of health professionals is, however, somewhat misleading as it assumes a simplistic “for” or “against” attitude which misrepresents the more nuanced perspective of many health professionals.
Therefore, in support of the conference theme of “making connections”, this presentation will seek to illustrate that the binary categorisation of people as either “for” or “against” voluntary assisted dying is lacking in nuance and that, in reality, there is more of a spectrum than a binary approach.
Biography:
Bio to come