Background
Euthanasia is a Greek term, meaning "good death". Euthanasia refers to terminating a person's life, however they must meet a criteria. The criteria includes them being terminally ill or suffering from an incurable disease. Euthanasia can also be referred to as "Mercy Killing" (Ebrahimi 2012). There are two forms of euthanasia; passive and active. Active euthanasia refers to deliberately ending a patient's life, for example by injecting a lethal chemical into them. Passive euthanasia is when medical treatment is withdrawn or withheld from a consenting patient; also referred to as a natural death. Euthanasia is an important topic because it can possibly reduce the pain and suffering of humans and has been excessively debated over time. Euthanasia most commonly affects the elderly, however is not just limited to them. It affects all ages suffering from a terminal illness, as well as the families of people in these situations. By legalising euthanasia, hospital costs will decrease due to treatments being cut down by patients choosing euthanasia and will reduce financial and emotional strain on families.
Objectives
1- Raising awareness about euthanasia
? Long term plan
? Directional
2- Legalising Euthanasia
? Long term plan
? Specific
Proposed Actions
1- Raising awareness about euthanasia
? Creating advertisements for television, radio and newspaper. Ads will be shown on TV and radio after 9pm in order to protect parents' rights to what they subject their children to.
? Using social media to further spread information about euthanasia. Such as creating a Facebook page and twitter page. We will use these pages to share information about euthanasia and what it involves. Also we will use it to keep people up to date with protests, meetings and any development in the process of legalising euthanasia.
? We will create a YouTube channel that discusses euthanasia. It'll be like a class where those who rather watch than read can also learn about euthanasia and stay up to date with the legalisation process.
? Employ speakers to visit high schools and speak to year 11 and 12 students, to inform them about euthanasia and what it truly involves. Students will be required to have parent or guardian sign a form allowing them to attend the seminar. It will be emphasised that we are not encouraging anything but just informing and educating.
2- Legalising Euthanasia
? Hold protests in the city to put pressure on the government to help in the process of legalising euthanasia. Protests in the city are likely to be taken more seriously as they disturb the usual flow of things in the city and also stop a lot of people from getting to where they need to be, which also brings more awareness to the issue of euthanasia. The protest will be a public demonstration, where everyone in favour of legalising euthanasia come together to show their support.
? Petitions will be created as a "request for action" (APH ND). The purpose of creating a petition is to take advantage of our right to directly present our issues to Parliament. We intend to get as many signatures as possible, in an attempt to get Parliament to take it seriously.
? We will present our case to the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC). The VLRC is a government funded organisation that helps develop, review and recommend reforms to the laws in Victoria. The VLRC consults the community and then advises the Attorney-General (appointed by the Queen to act as her) on how laws can be improved and updated after they research an issue (VLRC 2015). Currently euthanasia isn't legal, but with the help of the VLRC, it may get changed.
Anticipated Outcomes
Objective 1- Raising Awareness about Euthanasia
Creating ads for TV, radio and the newspaper:
- Present the issue to a wide audience
- Introduce it and inform people who are not aware of the issue
YouTube channel and social media:
- Further educate people who wish to follow up after attending a school seminar or seeing an advertisement.
Educational speakers:
- Aims to educated the younger generation as they will be at voting age soon
- Educate innocent and open minded minds
Key risks with objective 1
Creating ads for TV, radio, the newspaper, social media and a YouTube channel:
- Outrage from parents about allowing these ads to be shown
- Outrage from religious communities who are strongly against Euthanasia.
Educational speakers:
- Outrage from parents and teachers against euthanasia