Member

Returning to Amendment 88, Clause 19(2) says that if the co-ordinating doctor thinks the applicant will die within a month of the panel giving approval, then the applicant can receive an assisted death within 48 hours of that approval. Presumably, the co-ordinating doctor will make this judgment based on when they see the applicant for the first assessment. We can imagine the following situation: someone makes a first declaration, and when the doctor carries out the first assessment, they find that the person meets the eligibility criteria, partly because they have voluntarily stopped eating and drinking, which has accelerated the progress of their illness. Therefore, VSED is not the sole reason they qualify but part of a set of interlinked reasons, so it is not ruled out by Clause 2(2) as it stands. As discussed, Amendment 87 could broaden this further.