Calvary won't offer voluntary euthanasia, even if it's made legal

In a submission to an ACT parliamentary inquiry on the end-of-life choices available to people in Canberra, the company behind Clare Holland House and Calvary Hospital said it was against its code of ethics to allow its staff to help someone end their life.

The Little Company of Mary Health Care is a Catholic not-for-profit group that operates 15 hospitals, 17 aged care homes and a network of community care centres across the ACT, NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

In the ACT, it runs the Calvary Public Hospital and Calvary Private Hospital in Bruce, Clare Holland House, Calvary John James Hospital, Calvary Haydon Retirement Community and the Community Care Service Centre in Bruce.

It operates more than 500 hospital beds, more than 100 aged care beds, and has more than 90,000 presentations a year.

But while Calvary provides a significant proportion of the territory's healthcare, the company told the government in no uncertain terms it would not be able to purchase any services associated with any form of person-assisted suicide, voluntary assisted dying or euthanasia from Calvary.

"Calvary operates in accordance with the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia which calls us to the highest standards of accompaniment of persons who experience suffering," its submission says.

"While Calvary accepts that there are a plurality of views on the subject of voluntary assisted dying, Calvary will not offer such a service.

"Calvary cannot support the notion that assisting a person to suicide, or to end their life directly and intentionally, is an expression of care. We strive to eliminate suffering, but not the people who are experiencing the pain or physical incapability that may inform their suffering."

Surveys suggest between 70 and 85 per cent of people support physician-assisted suicide in principle, the company wrote in its submission.

However Calvary said Australia’s support for voluntary assisted dying schemes was driven by an unfamiliarity with death and dying; the de-humanisation and objectification of the sick, elderly and frail; and the value placed on self-determination and personal autonomy in care, and the fear of its compromise.

It noted most people who had opted for voluntary euthanasia since it was legalised in Oregon cited loss of independence (57 per cent) and poor quality of life (55 per cent) as reasons why.

"It is Calvary’s view that if the challenges above are more systematically addressed, the need for an 'assisted dying' pathway (and the expenditure of the resources associated with its introduction) will be significantly reduced," its submission said.

Victoria legalised voluntary assisted dying last year.

The ACT does not have the power to legislate on euthanasia because of the Andrews Bill, introduced by federal Liberal backbencher Kevin Andrews 23 years ago to overturn the Northern Territory's assisted dying scheme.

Calvary said it would be a "difficult, time consuming and costly" exercise to get the federal support needed to allow the ACT to make laws on euthanasia.

It pointed to figures from Palliative Care Victoria showing an annual $65 million shortfall in service delivery.

"Calvary ... is of the view that it should be a priority of the ACT government to allocate their time and resources to improving access and funding of necessary palliative care services and supports," the submission said.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr established a Legislative Assembly committee last November to look at the end-of-life choices currently available in the ACT, and ask people for their views on voluntary euthanasia.

The committee received nearly 500 submissions from people all around Australia, and will begin hearings this week.

The committee is due to report on its findings by the end of 2018.

An earlier version of this report stated the committee was due to report by the end of 2019.