Member for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams will co-sponsor the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill which will be tabled in the NSW Parliament on Thursday (October 14).
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Mrs Williams joins 27 other MPs from across the political spectrum co-sponsoring the legislation which reflects the overwhelming public support for this reform.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill will make history with it being co-sponsored by the highest number of Members on a Bill in any Australian parliament.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich is spearheading the push.
Four government MPs - Liberals Leslie Williams, Lee Evans and Felicity Wilson, and Nationals MP Trevor Khan - will be co-sponsor.
Other co-sponsors include members of the Greens, Animal Justice Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, and independents.
But they don't include Premier Dominic Perrottet or Opposition Leader Chris Minns, AAP reported.
Mr Perrottet is expected to vote against the reform but has supported a conscience vote for Liberal MPs.
Mr Minns on Tuesday reiterated that he'd be voting against the legislation.
A dozen Labor MPs have signed up to support the bill.
Mrs Williams supported Mr Greenwich who said the broad support showed that voluntary assisted dying is a "compassionate reform that transcends politics".
"The number of co-sponsors and the multi-partisan support across the Parliament is an acknowledgment that this human rights issue is one that transcends politics," Mrs Williams said.
"Voluntary assisted dying is an uncomfortable, emotional and complex subject for many people and I've been so appreciative of the local residents who have shared their perspective on this issue which has so often reflected very profound and personal experiences.
"The decision to co-sponsor the Bill is not one I made lightly but it does reflect the overwhelming support across our community for those who are terminally ill to have a choice."
More than 2,180 people have responded to a survey Mrs Williams shared last week, with more than 91 per cent of respondents supporting the Bill.
"If the Bill is passed by the NSW Parliament it will provide a legislative framework for patients with a terminal illness in NSW to request and receive help ending their lives with dignity, at a time and place of their choosing," Mrs Williams said.
"This will give greater options to many people who have made peace, yet find themselves struck with seemingly interminable pain or discomfort. It will be tempered with criteria and protections that prevent abuse and ensure it's only used as intended."
On Tuesday (October 12), Mrs Williams joined Independent MP Alex Greenwich and other co-sponsors to receive a public petition of over 100,000 signatures calling on NSW Members of Parliament to work together to pass voluntary assisted dying legislation.
Scott Riddle, a 39-year-old Sydneysider with stage 4 bowel cancer, handed over the petition outside NSW Parliament.
Mr Riddle, who started the petition last year, said the response had been "overwhelming".
"Terminally ill people in every other Australian state now have the option to die with dignity. Why should people in NSW be denied that right?" Mr Riddle said in a statement.
NSW is now the last State in the country to pass legislation on the matter after Queensland recently legalised euthanasia in September this year.
Last time the bill was raised in 2017, it failed to get through the Upper House by just one vote.
Shayne Higson, vice president of Dying with Dignity NSW, showed her support at the presentation of the petition.
"For Dying with Dignity it has been over 50 years trying to get this bill through, and now that the rest of the country has a law, it just makes sense that people in NSW who are faced with unbearable suffering at the end of their lives, as long as they have decision making capacity, should be given a compassionate end of life choice," Ms Higson said.
"There are people where it just has a palliative effect because they know they are back in control, and they know they have that option,
"But the reality is, for some patients, their end stages can't be managed and they deserve to die with dignity."
The Bill has been endorsed by the Health Services Union NSW and the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, based on their members' support.
The Bill would limit access to voluntary assisted dying in NSW to people with terminal illnesses who will die within six months.
If they have a neurodegenerative condition and are experiencing unbearable suffering, that will be extended to 12 months.
No hospitals, facilities or doctors would be forced to participate.
But two doctors would have to sign off on the request and they'd be trained to look for signs of coercion, according to Mr Greenwich.
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