More than 140 applications to die have been made by terminally ill Victorians since voluntary assisted dying laws came into force on June 19
show there have been about five applications a week in the first six months of the landmark euthanasia laws, with the scheme looking poised to far surpass preliminary estimates for the first year.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, which assesses every application, will release its next report in February which will reveal the number of people who have taken their own life using the laws. The most profound-red tape hurdle for many of them, he said, was finding a specialist doctor in their disease who had undertaken the mandatory assisted dying training.Dr McLaren often spends hours each week driving across the state to visit people wanting to end their lives. Most require up to three appointments even though many are bedridden or too ill to leave their homes.
"They can provide a very valuable and compassionate service which gives people control of their bodies in the final days of their life.” Under certain circumstances, those too ill and physically incapable of swallowing will be allowed to take the substance through an intravenous drip set up by a doctor.
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