New South Wales has become the final Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying.
The legislation passed through New South Wales lower house on Thursday (May 19).
The historic legislation means terminally ill people in NSW will now be able to choose the timing of their death.
The successful vote followed a mammoth debate overnight to work on amendments to the bill. The Upper House debated for 10 hours, discussing nearly 100 amendments to the bill before the final vote.
Voluntary Assisted Dying has now passed into law in NSW 🙏 pic.twitter.com/z2V5Y5HadP
— Alex Greenwich MP (@AlexGreenwich) May 19, 2022
The legislation was passed with a final vote of 23 to 15.
All MPs were given a conscience vote.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich, who introduced the bill last October, told parliament that the 'entire diversity' of the parliament were involved in passing the legislation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The legislation was co-sponsored by 28 other politicians.
Finance Minister Damien Tudehope, who opposed the bill, said that it was a 'dark day' for New South Wales.
New South Wales has now joined Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania in legalising voluntary assisted dying.
NSW has become the final state in Australia to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Meanwhile, Scott Morrison confirmed a re-elected Coalition would not give the Territories the right to decide if they want VAD or not. #ausvotes
— Madura McCormack (@MaduraMcCormack) May 19, 2022
"It was a sad day because it was an opportunity for NSW to say 'we can be better than this'," Tudehope said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Finance Minister added that NSW's parliament will be judged by history for their 'dreadful mistake'.
The historic legal win for the terminally ill comes after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet spoke out against voluntary assisted dying late last year.
The NSW Premier said the bill passing would 'open a door that could not be closed'.
He also acknowledged that in his role as Treasurer he 'failed' by not providing adequate funding for palliative care, but said he would work to fix that system, rather than put his support behind voluntary euthanasia.
