Guidelines and legislation, such as was once in the NT, and is in the Netherlands and Belgium is what will protect 'the vulnerable'. The 'vulnerable' have NO protection as it stands now in Australia.

I shudder to think out of which Cornflake box Paul Russell's lawyer friend got his degree. There is no box to tick re 'resuscitation' when undergoing any kind of procedure or operation in any hospital.

The irony of course, is that 'passive euthanasia' is the only kind that is 'allowed' here in Australia. So starving to death, dying of thirst, drowning in your own fluids by refusing medication, and indeed, stating Not For Resuscitation are in fact your only options.

As Chrys pointed out, once you give people back their power, very, very few in fact choose to hasten their death. The time left can be spent Living, rather than being depressed and scared.

I have yet to hear a convincing argument against legislated voluntary euthanasia.

Well said, Chrys. Those who trot out this tired old bogey of 'vulnerability' ignore (deliberately?)the possibility of legislative safeguards to prevent abuse, such as the many hurdles set out in the NT Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, which in effect set up a very public and thorough procedure to evidence the person's free will. They also ignore the evidence you cite of the low level of use of the right to physician-assisted suicide. They 'forget' that there is always the possibility of abuse in permitting any social activity, (e.g. parenting, gambling) and that the benefits of permitting action are weighed against the possible (I emphasise possible) harm.
Finally, they ignore the various jurisdictions where regulated physician-assisted suicide is permitted, without any evidence of widespread abuse.
It is a sad indictment on our society that a court could agree that in a particular case the suffering of the person seeking assisted suicide was so severe, and her wish to die fully competent, as to warrant morally that she be allowed such assistance, but that, too bad, someone might in the future abuse such a right if the court were to set a precedent to be followed by others in similar circumstances. This occurred in the European Court of Human Rights case of Diane Pretty. She was forced to live and die in a state, the court acknowledged, full of unbearable fear, humiliation, and agony. I hope Ms Pretty appreciated the reasoning.