Euthanasia in Australia Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Thus, the Queensland regulation evidently kills an adult’s right to self-determination as the legislation shows more attachment towards the medical principle of sanctity of life. Davis (2009) argues that a look into the English law proves that the right to self-determination is given more importance than the principle of sanctity of life. In the case, Bland was in a vegetative state and the court allowed removal of life-supporting treatments to facilitate his death (ibid). However, in Queensland, an adult can fill advance health directive but it will operate only if it is in harmony with the common law. That means, in Queensland, for an advance health directive to operate, it should meet criteria like a sufficiently poor state of health, lack of prospects of recovery, and consistency with good medical practice. However, in other states, it is irrelevant to consider the fact that the adult would have lived for an extended period of time and made a full recovery if life-sustaining measures were given. In other words, if there is a valid AHD, the medical practitioner would not legally be allowed to provide such good medical practices which could prolong or save the life of the patient. We will write a custom essay sample on Euthanasia in Australia or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Another important limitation, according to Willmott et al (2006) is that in Queensland, self-determination works only if the adult is sufficiently ill and only when doing so is a good medical practice. Thus, it becomes evident that unlike other states in Australia, Queensland heavily restricts the right to self-determination. In other words, an advance directive is given no value while deciding the treatment options. Secondly, the advance decision will not work if the adult has a reasonable prospect of regaining capacity to take decisions (ibid). That means in issues like heart attack, the directive is unlikely to operate. Thirdly, in other states, even if a medical measure is not operative under the legislative regime, a person can opt to do so through advance directive (ibid). However, in Queensland, the advance directive is restricted by statutory regime. Another point is that according to the Powers of Attorney Act 1998, the life-sustaining measures are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, assisted ventilation and artificial nutrition and hydration. It is surprising to note that blood transfusion is omitted from the list of life sustaining measures. Still, the mere fact is that the Queensland legislation severely restricts individual rights in a number of situations. To illustrate, a person who just developed dementia will not be able to utilise the legal right to remove life-sustaining treatments as the disease is not terminal at any stage.