Provisions of Act
Passed by the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly on 25 May 1995 under the stewardship of Marshall Perron, and entering into law on 1 July 1996, the Act allowed terminally ill patients to commit medically assisted suicide, either by the direct involvement of a physician or by procurement of drugs. It required a somewhat lengthy application process, designed to ensure that the patients were both mentally competent to make the decision and in fact terminally ill. Under the Act:
- A patient had to be over 18 and be mentally and physically competent to request his or her own death.
- The request had to be supported by three doctors, including a specialist who confirmed that the patient was terminally ill and a psychiatrist who certified that the patient was not suffering from treatable depression.
- Once the paperwork was complete, a nine-day cooling-off period was required before the death could proceed.
Read more about this topic: Rights Of The Terminally Ill Act 1995
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