Dr. Louise Campbell:

Yes. Its legislation is very long. There are five steps to go through in the process between the application, the first review and the final approval. There is a second application and there is also a review. There are five stages. It is very strict and some proponents of assisted dying feel it is too stringent. The other worry is that it might place a disproportionate burden on people who in any case might have difficulty accessing the interventions. One does not want to put too many hurdles in place because that can arbitrarily disadvantage other people. This is the balancing line that has to be drawn. I am not aware of any discussion of coercion or undue influence in the reported documentation from any jurisdiction. That does not mean it does not exist. It means, as Senator Seery Kearney suggested, that it would be extremely difficult to establish. That is not the kind of information that will be forthcoming in a statutory documentation of these procedures. However, case studies, other forms of literature or information that is available on the web - which I obviously would not go to as my primary source of information - might provide some illustration of what is going on beyond the scenes. It is impossible to determine that.