The suicide of 104-year-old Australian scientist David Goodall, who took his life in Switzerland tonight, will have the effect of encouraging vulnerable people to follow his example, Cherish Life Queensland has warned.

“This sends entirely the wrong message to those who are battling feelings of worthlessness and suicide ideation and undermines society’s attempts to reduce the suicide rate,” Cherish Life Queensland president Julie Borger said.

“It is sad that this elderly gentleman felt that his failing eyesight and impaired mobility made life no longer worth living.

“One of the many real problems with euthanasia or assisted killing is that it always burdens someone else with the responsibility for the death.

“A natural process assisted by palliative care to ease any pain or suffering is the only way to death with true peace and dignity.

“It was unfortunate that Exit International, which was founded by deregistered Australian doctor Philip Nitschke, who has been dubbed ‘Dr Death’, encouraged Goodall to kill himself.

“This dangerous organisation has been involved in numerous suicides in Australia and overseas over the last two decades.

“Goodall’s death is one of many which Dr Death’s organisation has facilitated, where the patient was not terminally ill, but was simply tired of life.

“This is evidence of the slippery slope, which euthanasia advocates deny exists.

“The justification for euthanasia - which the public has been assured is only for competent adults who are terminally ill and in severe pain - has been expanded to cover anyone who wishes to be included, and even those who cannot give informed consent, in practically every jurisdiction which has gone down this path.”

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A push within the Australian Labor Party to deprive its members in the Queensland Parliament of their right to vote according to their conscience on the decriminalisation of abortion has been slammed by Cherish Life Queensland.

A pro-abortion group within the ALP, Labor for Choice, is pushing for this change to the party platform at the next national conference in July.

“Freedom of conscience is a fundamental human right under international law,” Cherish Life Queensland president Julie Borger said.

“The right to a conscience vote on abortion has been included in the federal platform of the Labor Party since 1984, properly recognising that abortion is a life or death issue and not merely a legal or medical one.

“If the ALP national conference votes to bind its MPs to vote for the decriminalisation of abortion, they would be imposing their morality on some of their colleagues and ironically denying them their ‘choice’ by compelling them to vote against their personal convictions.

“This also would force MPs to vote against their constituents’ views.

“A YouGovGalaxy opinion poll earlier this year showed that 55% of Queensland voters either want the current abortion law to stay the same or be made stricter.

“The poll showed that decriminalisation is not a vote-winner, with 32% of Queenslanders less likely to vote for a pro-abortion MP, compared to 18% who would be more likely to do so.”

Mrs Borger urged those who support human rights to encourage their Labor members of State Parliament to continue to support conscientious objection for votes on “life” issues.

She said the claim by Labor for Choice that abortion was “difficult to access” was a lie.

“It is widely accepted that up to 14,000 abortions occur in Queensland each year under the current law.

“Decriminalisation inevitably would mean even more abortions, which would mean more women being harmed and more lives being destroyed.”

Mrs Borger said Labor for Choice only pretended to be “pro-women” and “pro-choice”, as the group was opposed to independent counselling and informed consent protections for women.

“These extremists who oppose informed consent laws want to impose just one choice on women.

“Women deserve better than abortion.”

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