“How can it be painless?”: Melbourne woman describes palliative care process

A Melbourne woman has spoken of the pain of watching her father go through the process of palliative care, after the state government introduced its voluntary euthanasia bill to Parliament today.

Brenda told Tom Elliott her 65-year-old father had a fall about a month ago and ended up in The Austin Hospital.

“The doctors did all the tests they could,” Brenda said.

“They basically said he had sustained an acquired brain injury and he’d spent the rest of his life in a high care nursing facility.”

Brenda’s father has been in palliative care since last Wednesday.

“Every minute of the day, each organ is shutting down, how can that be a painless process?”

The bill, introduced to the Parliament today, includes new criminal offences for people who abuse the “self-administered” scheme for the terminally ill.

Doctors, relatives or friends who administer a lethal dose against the rules of a special permit could be jailed for life.

Click PLAY below to hear Brenda’s story