Australian jurisdictions have seen a ‘slippery slope’ of expanding euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) in a very short period of time.

It found clear evidence that Australian States are moving down a ‘slippery slope’ away from a system of assisted suicide as practised in the US state of Oregon and towards the widely-criticised situation of euthanasia in Canada.

Lead researcher Professor David Albert Jones said the report should open people’s eyes as to “just how quickly safeguards have been eroded or abandoned in Australia”.

“Rather than an example of the law working well it is an example of what happens when you prioritise access over safety. The practice of Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in Australia is rapidly coming to resemble Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada. It is important for Parliamentarians in the United Kingdom to realise that once you legalise some form of assisted suicide or euthanasia you open the door to later expansion affecting more people and open to more abuse.”