Is a life sentence justified for assisted dying?

In 1997, Kevin Andrews succeeded in pushing a private member's bill through Federal Parliament. It overturned the first legislation permitting assisted suicide in Australia, enacted in the Northern Territory.

Since then, not only does assisting someone to commit suicide remain a serious crime in all States, it is also a crime in the Territories. Three states have life imprisonment as the maximum penalty, while in others the maximum penalty varies from 5 to 25 years.

This is extraordinarily cruel. The denial of the right to die at a time of our choosing can result in a lingering, painful death. It is also at odds with the fact that we have both a fundamental and legal right to choose whether we wish to continue living.

It's important to state this clearly, because people forget suicide was once illegal and failed attempts often led to prosecution.

In Medieval England, suicides were denied a Christian burial. Instead, they were carried to a crossroads in the dead of night and dumped in a pit, a wooden stake hammered through the body to pin it in place.

But punishment did not end with death. The deceased's family's belongings were handed to the Crown. This remained the case until 1822. The suicide of an adult male could reduce his survivors to pauperism.

From the middle of the 18th century there was a softening of public attitudes towards suicide. While it is obviously still an occasion for sadness, there is also a recognition that people do not belong to their families or to the government. An individual may have good reasons to take his or her own life.

But there is a catch. The law says we are only permitted to die by our own hand, without assistance. Indeed, in three states, reasonable force can still be used to stop a person from committing suicide. And if we are too weak or incapacitated to end our lives ourselves, we are condemned to suffer until nature takes its course. It is a serious offence for anyone to either help us die – or even to tell us how to do it for ourselves.

One of the consequences of this is that it can compel people to end their lives sooner than they would like. Understandably, people prefer to avoid the risk that they will become incapable of committing suicide themselves.

There is no better marker of individual freedom than the ability to decide what to do with our own body. If the law prevents us from making free choices about it, then we are not really free at all; our bodies belong to the State.

Legalisation of assisted suicide is long overdue in Australia. Opinion polls show more than 80% of Australians are in favour, across all political parties. It is high time governments accepted that on this deeply personal matter, their intrusion is not warranted.

Despite what some people think, this is not about bumping off granny to inherit the house. Assisted suicide is simply helping someone to do something that they would do for themselves, if they were not so ill or feeble. The absolutely essential element is voluntary consent, which is emphatically not merely implied consent or acquiescence.

Of course, consent must be verified. Medical practitioners are no better qualified than anyone else to confirm this, but clearly the decision must be genuine. One of my concerns with Senator Di Natale's Dying with Dignity Bill – although I support its general intent – is that it over-medicalises the process, giving too much power to doctors. This is apart from the fact that it may lack a valid Constitutional head of power.

In the short term at least, the easiest way to smooth the path to legalising assisted suicide would be repeal of the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 – the 'Andrews Bill' I referred to earlier. It removed the power of each of the Territories to legalise assisted suicide, with a specific focus on repeal of the Northern Territory's law.

While it is not feasible to simply reinstate the Northern Territory act, repeal of the Andrews Bill would send a signal to States and Territories that their legislatures may now turn their attention to this issue. As a bonus, it would support Federalism in law making. For too long, the Commonwealth has waded into areas that are properly the business of the states.

To that end, I plan to introduce a Private Senators' Bill before the end of this year to repeal the Andrews Bill and set the Territories free.