The son of a man who took his own life after years of struggling to live with multiple sclerosis is calling for change.
Bertie Daniel’s father, Laurie, sent the family away on holiday when he was just 15 years old so they wouldn’t have to be there when he ended his own suffering.
Now, Mr Daniels said if there had been allowances in place for voluntary assisted dying (VAD), his father would not have had to depart in such sad circumstances and could have done so with the love and support of his family.
“I always thought that when my Dad would die that me and my sister and Mum and … everybody would be with him when he went,” Mr Daniels told 4BC on Wednesday.
“I thought that he would eventually get to the end of his life and maybe the MS would be too much and he would pass away,” Mr Daniels said.
“But no, he was in too much pain; he was suffering too much and he couldn’t wait for that end and so he had to take his own life … all alone by himself in his room late at night.”
A VAD bill is currently before the NSW upper house, having passed the lower house last year.
It would enable those with a terminal illness who are expected to live for less than 12 months to voluntarily end their lives.
NSW is currently the only state not to have passed a law enabling VAD, with demonstrators gathering outside parliament on Wednesday to urge enough focus be placed on the issue and ensure the bill does not stall.
Newspaper advertising taken out by VAD supporters asked, “How many more horrific deaths will it take?”
The upper house debated the issue for several hours on Wednesday, with some opposing the bill on religious grounds and others because it was “too complicated” as One Nation leader Mark Latham stated it.
More of those who spoke were supportive, noting the procedure is voluntary and laws were deliberately limited in scope.
Advocates point out the bill is aimed at those for whom continuing to live and suffer has become a worse notion than dying at a time and place of their choosing.
Mr Daniels explained that in the later stages of his father’s life, he began to lose the function of his arms and legs and was in near-constant, unbearable pain.
“He spent most of his time in a bed in our home. We had to change our spare room into a room specifically catered to his needs,” Mr Daniels said.
“He was basically just stuck in a hospital bed for probably 20 hours a day.”
“If we had the laws, we could have been there for him and he could have had a dignified death, surrounded by all of his loved ones with all of the support he could ever want.”
The Upper House debate on the VAD bill was adjourned until next Wednesday.
