That is a beautifully written article. I cannot imagine being confronted with the decision to effectively 'die now or see it out', and I commend you on your courage in speaking out.

However, I find the quote "Jesus himself deliberately chose the time of his death. He had a number of options to avoid the crucifixion, but he chose to go to the cross. We all have the same choice", a little misleading.

Jesus did not choose death to avoid pain, he chose pain to save from death.

My Wife and Brother have both passed away as a result of melanoma. My brothers cancer ended up as bone cancer. Although on the maximum dose of morphine allowable his face would still wince with pain. The nurses would give him additional medication when one of us (We stayed with him till the end) contacted them, however, there was a maximum they could legally give. Torture is illegal in Australia except, apparently, when you are terminally ill. I believe in personal choice. I am not religious, however my understanding of Christianity is that God is the final Judge. I ask religious polititians how God will judge those who prevent people from making decisions that God is to Judge. I believe many politicians are allowing their religious views to influence their decision making.

Hi Gribble - I'm so sorry for the loses you have endured and that pain of watching your loved ones melt painfully away. I have seen it many times and am also aware that some doctors administered merciful overdoses at times - albeit at the nth hour and too late for the interminable suffering of their patients. I also agree that religion is (again) getting in the way of compassion. Their concept of God is a punitive one, a reflection of themselves.

Dear HereNow,

Why blame religion itself for the actions of some fanatic Christians?

Killing one's body is at times sinful, at other times it is not. Nevertheless, even when sinful, nobody can ever stop another from being a sinner: religion is always about how you live (and die), not about how others do so.

I am not a doctor but I know many, and most are in support of voluntary euthanasia, with appropriate protections. Doctors are not in the business of prolonging suffering, even if there is money to be made.
As a Queenslander, I agree that we urgently need to make changes.
The Queensland Labor Party voted to support the introduction of Assisted Dying at their conference last July, with surprisingly little resistance, but they are getting stuck in the implementation because it is such an easy target for the opposition. Dying with Dignity Qld dwdqld.org.au is doing great advocacy work here and is worth getting involved with if you are a supporter.

Yuyutsu - There is no such thing as sin. It is an invention used to manipulate others. Religion has a great deal to answer for.