A Vic politician was rushed to hospital after a 26-hour debate.

The bid to introduce euthanasia in Victoria is taking its toll on politicians, with one parliamentarian being rushed to hospital after a marathon 26-hour sitting.

Daniel Mulino, who staunchly opposed the bill, was taken to hospital in an ambulance just before 10:30am on Friday. Mr Mulino had suffered an “emergency” in his office, though colleagues later confirmed that he had stabilised: “I have had an update from Mr Mulino personally, and we can say he is all good”, said Labor MP Jaclyn Symes.

Parliament was adjourned at 11:30am, and will reconvene next Tuesday.

MPs had debated just nine of a 140-clause amended bill by the end of this week’s session.

The fate of the bill is in the hands of just two MPs, Liberal’s Bruce Atkinson and Simon Ramsay, who have demanded extensive amendments before they would consider voting for the bill.

Under the first set of amendments to be considered, patients must be a Victorian resident for at least a year, the coroner will be notified and assisted dying will be mentioned on the death certificate. The government has also said it will tighten the entry requirement for patients from 12 months to 6 months maximum life-expectancy.

A bill to legalise euthanasia in New South Wales was defeated in the Legislative Council by one vote on Thursday evening.  

Euthanasia debate halted in Victoria after MP rushed to hospital
Xavier Symons
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assisted suicide
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Xavier Symons

Xavier Symons is a bioethicist and scholar in residence at the Kennedy Institute for Ethics at Georgetown University.

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