Christian Democrat Party leader Reverend Fred Nile has claimed ‘God’ prompted him to incorrectly recount a story about euthanasia while debating against voluntary assisted death laws in the NSW Parliament.
A bill to allow patients 25 years or older, whose deaths are imminent and are in excruciating pain, the option to choose how they die was voted down by one vote on Thursday night.
During the heated discussion, Reverend Nile recalled a story about a patient in the U.S. state of Oregon, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Christian Democrat Party leader Reverend Fred Nile (pictured) has claimed ‘God’ prompted him to incorrectly recount a story about euthanasia while debating the subject in the NSW Parliament
Despite backing up his story when it was called into question by Nationals MP Trevor Khan (pictured), Reverend Nile admitted on Friday that he had made an error
He claimed the female patient had elected to die via lethal injection but changed her mind at the last minute.
‘The doctor said, “But you have signed a consent form.” She said, “No.” The doctor said to her relatives, “Would you hold her down while I give her the lethal injection?”,’ he told the room of MPs.
Despite backing up his story when it was called into question by Nationals MP Trevor Khan, Reverend Nile admitted on Friday that he had made an error.
The specific case actually occurred in the Netherlands and the elderly female patient who had dementia had awoken after being sedated so relatives needed to assist the doctor, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The doctor was investigated and cleared.
Reverend Nile said he had not intended to mention the story but it appeared in his mind during the debate.
‘Whether God prompted me … I got a full blown visual of that report so I just started quoting from memory,’ he said.
‘I probably should have had it in front of me’.
A bill to allow patients 25 years or older, whose deaths are imminent and are in excruciating pain, the option to choose how they die was voted down by one vote on Thursday night
During the heated discussion, Reverend Nile recalled a story about a patient in the U.S. state of Oregon who he claimed had elected to die via lethal injection but changed her mind at the last minute
Advocates for voluntary euthanasia are ‘devastated’ proposed legislation has been voted down in NSW’s upper house but are vowing to continue their fight to change the state’s laws.
MPs teared up as they made their pleas for and against the bill during a lengthy debate in the Legislative Council which ran late into the night.
In the end, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 was defeated 20 votes to 19.
Dying with Dignity advocate Shayne Higson was overwhelmed after the result.
‘We knew the numbers would be tight but we were led to believe we just had the numbers,’ Ms Higson said on Friday.
‘But 24 hours before the debate two members of the upper house changed their position.
‘It was challenging emotionally to sit through this debate. It really felt like politicians were unwilling to listen to the vast majority and were turning their back on terminally ill people and their families.’
‘Whether God prompted me … I got a full blown visual of that report so I just started quoting from memory,’ Mr Nile (pictured) said
Ms Higson says most objections to the bill were on religious grounds.
A recent Australia-wide opinion poll suggested 87 per cent of Australians support letting patients die when they are hopelessly ill and experiencing unrelievable suffering.
Nationals MP Trevor Khan, who introduced the private members bill into parliament, on Friday vowed he’d ‘never give up the fight”.
‘You’ve just got to pick yourself up and look at how you move forward, otherwise you’re not doing the right thing by the people you’re trying to help,’ he told AAP.
Mr Khan said the Parliamentary Working Group on Assisted Dying will ‘regroup’ before re-introducing another draft bill before the next state election in March 2019.
Adam Wright from Family Voice welcomed the defeat of the NSW bill.
‘We’re obviously very happy with this victory – but the bigger issue is the need for better end-of-life care,’ he said on Friday.
‘NSW is spending $100 million over four years but the experts are saying that’s not enough and the option to euthanise shouldn’t be the way to compensate.’
Victorian MPs, meanwhile, are currently debating that state’s assisted dying bill, with a vote due in the upper house later on Friday or early on Saturday.