Members of the faithful in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains are being urged to reach out to their State Members to oppose the introduction of voluntary euthanasia in NSW.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 passed the Lower House in November 2021, when Members voted in favour of the Bill 52 to 32 on a conscience vote.
The Bill is now before the Upper House of the NSW Parliament, with the Legislative Council committee due to report back on 22 February. The Bill will be debated and voted on following this report.
As part of the work being undertaken to stop the passage of the Bill through the Legislative Council, Greg Donnelly MLC has launched an ePetition, available on the NSW Parliament website.
The petition reads:
To the President and Members of the Legislative Council, the petitioners of New South Wales state that they are completely opposed to the passage of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021, in any form, which provides for state sanctioned/funded assisted suicide/euthanasia.
A cornerstone of our legal system is that ALL human life has inherent value and must be treated with dignity and respect. The petitioners request that the House unanimously oppose the bill, in any form, and reject it.
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, said that the Diocese of Parramatta supports the campaign against the legislation, and urged members of clergy and parishioners to do everything they can to make their opposition known.
“Different MPs will be influenced by different voices, but we know that many of them take special notice of the views of doctors or lawyers,” Bishop Vincent explained. “If you have any doctors, nurses or other medical professionals or lawyers in your parish who would be willing to speak with their MPs, please invite them to do so.
“We also know that MPs listen to the views of their electorates and so it is vital the Catholic community in these electorates are encouraged to phone their local member and express their concerns about the Bill.”
The online petition only takes a few minutes to complete. Be sure to tick the box indicating that you are a resident of NSW.
The petition closes on 25 April 2022, after which it will be presented to the Legislative Council.
Sign and share the petition ‘Please unanimously reject the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021’ at www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lc/pages/epetitions-list.aspx
Download the information flyer ‘Ten Things to know about the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill’ here.
