00:01The irony is that according to states where VAD is legal, according to the state laws,
00:07an element of telehealth is permitted, but there's a provision in the Commonwealth Criminal
00:13Code which outlaws the use of a carriage service to incite suicide.
00:19So that's been interpreted in a way such that doctors cannot use phone, video or email to
00:27talk about voluntary assisted dying medication with their patients.
00:31So people who want to do voluntary assisted dying, known as VAD, do have to go through
00:37rigorous approvals including face-to-face consultations with medical practitioners to ensure that they
00:44are eligible, but in rural and remote areas, VAD doctors are in short supply and some people
00:52because they're so unwell and unable to travel, have been missing out on those face-to-face
01:00consultations and therefore missing out on VAD itself.
01:05So South Australian GP Scott Lewis actually flies his plane into rural and remote areas
01:11to provide health care and he says the demand for VAD is in fact very, very strong.
01:18In the last fortnight I've covered about 3000km across the state for voluntary assisted dying.
01:24Sandra Sorentu lives in Adelaide and she worked as a paramedic for 13 years and she even treated
01:31patients in rural and remote areas. So she does have a strong understanding of the health system.
01:37She was diagnosed nine weeks ago with an aggressive form of lung cancer. She chose not to do chemotherapy
01:44after seeing her father endure a long and painful death from the same cancer. So she's doing VAD
01:52tomorrow, ending her life on her own terms. It's obviously an incredibly emotional and difficult time
02:00for her and her family, but she was shocked recently when she learned that people living in rural, remote
02:07and some regional areas are finding it hard to access VAD because of where they live and because
02:14they don't have the opportunity to use telehealth throughout the process, which of course advocates
02:20say would make the entire process easier and more accessible. So she has used her last hours to call
02:30the Albanese government to change this federal law. I'm very grateful for it. However, it makes me sad
02:41to know that there are people out there who can't, who don't have this option or not, you know, where
02:49it's
02:49made so hard and their time is ticking. And, you know, they have to suffer and it's cruel.
02:58It's, and it makes me sad and I feel guilty that I've got, got this and others, they don't have
03:07access to it.
03:08Federal independent Kate Cheney is trying to bring on debate in federal parliament today
03:14to push a private member's bill, which would see this law amended.
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