Ethical End of Life Care Limited is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. Our vision is to seek an Australian society where assisted suicide and euthanasia ("VAD") are recognised as dangerous and harmful, and where better, ethical solutions are upheld to care for persons living with illness, disability or suffering.

Many of our members and supporters are health professionals, and we are also supported by others who share our vision.

Our Board comprises a broad range of medical practitioners, academics and others.

Vision

We seek an Australian society where the inherent dignity and interconnected nature of each person is recognised, and there is an ethical response to life-limiting illness, disability and suffering.

We see assisted dying in its various expressions (assisted suicide, euthanasia, voluntary assisted dying) as a morally bankrupt, judgmental and dangerous response to end-of-life care and suffering.

We seek greater awareness of the resulting neglect, abuses and harms. This will result in legislative, regulatory and professional practice changes which repeal assisted dying or markedly increase protections against it, while prioritising palliative care as the ethically robust and preferred alternative.

Aims

Our aims are:

•                 to unite and provide a platform of support and activity for the diverse range of professionals and other people within Australia who share our vision

•                 to improve the health literacy, data availability and thought of health professionals, the public, politicians and policy makers about unsafe and unethical realities of voluntary assisted dying (VAD), while raising awareness about better, ethical and effective alternatives like palliative care

•                 to change the current culture in society and within public health services that promotes VAD as a “good” and assumes an attitude that endorses its expansion

•                 to increase focus upon accountability of the oversight of VAD and its safeguards

•                 to promote a culture of reporting abuses and breaches of safeguards in the implementation of VAD, and to lobby and campaign for enforcement and practical action when breaches of safeguards are apparent

•                 to lobby and campaign for the repeal of VAD, and against extensions of VAD indications and easing of safeguards, and to advocate for enhanced safeguards to prevent future harm

•                 to campaign for amendments to VAD legislation to minimise harm

•                 to lobby and campaign for more comprehensive palliative care services around Australia and to publicise their impact

•                 to promote palliative care research to improve the care of those with life limiting illnesses and their families

•                 to encourage, support and assist accurate research and literature into the impact of VAD on patients, families, communities, health professionals and health systems

•                 to support individuals and institutions who conscientiously object to VAD (based on clinical reasons, freedom of religion or other beliefs), including medical and health care practitioners and others who experience moral injury or emotional distress because of VAD practices.