Family First will run pro-life candidates at next year’s election committed to repealing Victoria’s dangerous euthanasia laws and restoring dignity to end-of-life care.

The Allan Labor Government has announced sweeping amendments to Victoria’s Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) laws that will remove key safeguards and put vulnerable people at greater risk.

More than 1,200 Victorians have already been euthanised under these laws since they came into effect in 2019. Now Labor, possibly with the help of Liberals and Nationals, wants to make it even easier.

Family First believes in real compassion — not killing. We stand for expanding palliative care, not euthanasia.

If someone feels they need to kill themselves it probably means they are not getting access to modern palliative care.

Every human life is precious, and our society must do everything possible to protect those nearing the end of life, not pressure them into an early grave when mixed motives of some family members the economic pressures on the health system can come into play.

The proposed changes include:

• Allowing doctors to “suggest” euthanasia to patients — a gross violation of medical ethics that devalues life.
• Forcing Christian doctors and nurses to provide information about euthanasia, even if it violates their conscience — a direct attack on religious freedom.
• Doubling the eligibility window from six to 12 months to live — undermining hope for patients who may otherwise respond to treatment.
• Cutting the consultation period from nine days to five — increasing the risk of rash decisions.
• Dropping interpreter requirements — risking fatal misunderstandings among non-English-speaking patients.

These are not minor technical tweaks. These are fundamental shifts that expose the sick, elderly, disabled, and non-English speakers to the prospect of state-sanctioned death — often without fully understanding what they are agreeing to.

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas says these changes will bring Victoria into line with other jurisdictions. But dragging Victoria down to the lowest common denominator in euthanasia policy is not progress. It is a betrayal of the vulnerable.

Family First will not stand by while the culture of death takes deeper root in our healthcare system. Our candidates will fight to repeal these laws and champion world-class palliative care so that no Victorian feels they are a burden or better off dead.