President's message
AMA Presidents oppose dangerous Physician Assisted Suicide law
Dear Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly,
We the undersigned present and past presidents of AMA Tasmania write to ask you to oppose the Tasmanian End of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) bill which seeks to legalise and enable Physician Assisted Suicide.
Physician Assisted Suicide is a form of euthanasia in which the deliberate ending of a patient’s life is intentionally undertaken or facilitated by a medical practitioner. Physician assisted patient suicide is not a medical procedure and it is not part of acceptable medical practice according to the World Medical Association, the Australian Medical Association and Palliative Care Australia. Almost all medical societies worldwide (105 of 107) oppose Physician Assisted Suicide.