Revelations that one in six older Australians experience abuse and around 46% of the abuse is perpetrated by their sons and daughters has increased calls for South Australia (SA) to strengthen laws to protect the elderly from pressure to access Assisted Suicide (Voluntary Assisted Dying).
ACL’s South Australian Director, Christopher Brohier, said “This information about familial elder abuse undermines the recent assertion by the SA Attorney General recently that safeguards in the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 (VAD Act) can ensure the integrity of euthanasia by telehealth.
“A medical practitioner providing assisted suicide information to a person by telehealth cannot possibly know what is going on in the background.”
Mr Brohier said “The SA Government must strengthen protections for the elderly in its Assisted Suicide regime by removing the provision which allows telehealth consultations”.
The ACL calls on the Attorney-General to amend the provisions of the VAD Act to prohibit telehealth for the elderly in relation to assisted suicide.
