Voices From Voluntary Assisted Dying9 Maalis

Episode 20 – Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith’s own reflections on VAD

Roles are reversed this episode as Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith – who normally sits in the host’s chair – is interviewed by previous guest, Jane Nosworthy, VAD support group facilitator with Dying With Dignity Victoria.

Laureen shares her own perspective as a South Australian GP who has worked with around 160 people seeking Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD). Motivated by decades of end-of-life care, including witnessing both peaceful and traumatic deaths, she argues VAD restores dignity, control and relief, particularly where palliative care cannot address loss of independence or suffering.

Laureen describes the emotional shift from early anxiety about new legislation and strict paperwork to calm confidence in a process she finds consistently gentle for patients and families. She outlines key system pressures: workforce shortages, limited remuneration, the risk of practitioner burnout, and the need for mentorship and debriefing supports. She also critiques barriers including prognosis thresholds, frailty, dementia, and South Australia’s “gag clause,” which inspired her to launch a public-facing podcast to demystify access.

Comprehensive information on Voluntary Assisted Dying in Your State is provided on the Go Gentle website at https://www.gogentleaustralia.org.au/vad_in_your_state or by contacting your State Health Department.

If listening to this podcast raises distressing issues for you, please contact one of the following support services:
Griefline (https://griefline.org.au/) 1300 845 745
Grief Australia (https://www.grief.org.au/) 1800 642 745
Lifeline (https://www.lifeline.org.au/) 13 11 14, or chat online 24 hours a day

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Jaksot(29)

Episode 29 – SA Deputy Premier Kyam Maher reflects on the hard-fought push for VAD

Kyam Maher, South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, reveals how his mother's harrowing pancreatic cancer death drove him to introduce South Australia's successful 2020 voluntary assisted...

6 Syys 23min

Episode 28 – How the NT's New VAD Law Falls Short of 1995

Marshall Perron drafted the world's first voluntary assisted dying legislation in 1995 as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – decades before most nations even debated the issue, and years befor...

30 Elo 25min

Episode 27 – You Can't Always Cure, But You Can Always Heal

Voluntary assisted dying isn't just about end-of-life choice – it challenges medicine to rethink its purpose. Dr Clare Fellingham argues that while medicine cannot always cure, it can always heal by r...

23 Elo 37min

Episode 26 – Sandra’s journey to access VAD

This year, Sandra was diagnosed with the same aggressive lung cancer that took her father's life. Having spent thirteen years as an ambulance clinician and watched her father suffer through chemothera...

26 Heinä 25min

Episode 25 – Nicole

The experience of voluntary assisted dying is shaped not only by legislation, but by access. Nicole’s family discovered that geography, travel requirements and gaps in healthcare services can create s...

28 Kesä 22min

Episode 24 – Why We Need Better Conversations About Dying

Death is universal, yet modern society often treats it as something hidden, feared and rarely discussed. Cultural anthropologist and Buddhist scholar Dr Hannah Gould explores how religion, medicine, m...

14 Kesä 42min

Episode 23 - The Rural Reality of Voluntary Assisted Dying with Dr Tim Leeuwenburg

Access to voluntary assisted dying can depend heavily on where a patient lives. Rural doctor Dr Tim Leeuwenburg sees this firsthand through his work on Kangaroo Island, where patients often face long ...

31 Touko 27min

Episode 22 - How the ACT Legalised Voluntary Assisted Dying

ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne reflects on the long and complex journey to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in the ACT, from the overturning of Northern Territory laws in 1997 to the restorat...

28 Huhti 49min