Better Off Dead

Andrew Denton investigates the stories, moral arguments and individuals woven into discussions about why good people are dying bad deaths in Australia – because there is no law to help them.

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Listen to #17 Why Do I Have to Go Through Hell to Get to Heaven?

#17 Why Do I Have to Go Through Hell to Get to Heaven?Explicit
20 years ago, four dying people were able to access the Northern Territory’s world-first law to help them die more mercifully, before the law itself was extinguished. By the end of 2016, over 100 million people on three continents will be able to access such laws – the most recent places to adopt them being America’s most populous state, California, and Canada. Since that Northern Territory law was overturned in 1997, nearly 30 attempts to create a new one here in Australia have failed. But as the tide of history turns in favour of assisted dying, how much longer can…

Older episodes

  ∙  00:46:39
#16 Abandon Hope
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  ∙  00:43:50
#15 Lawrie's Story
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  ∙  00:52:55
#14 Australia's Dark Little Secret
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  ∙  00:57:36
#13 Now They're Killing Babies
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  ∙  00:52:27
#12 Velvet Ray
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  ∙  00:55:44
#11 Whose life is it anyway?: palliative care in Australia, part 2
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  ∙  00:48:08
#10 Neither hasten nor prolong death: palliative care in Australia, part 1
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  ∙  00:49:51
#9 Why should one church decide for all of us? Death with dignity in Oregon
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  ∙  00:55:28
#8 Darkness visible: Marjorie, Edith and Laura: Belgium, part 2
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  ∙  00:48:08
#7 The killing fields of Belgium: Belgium, part 1
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  ∙  00:45:30
#6 Once you start killing, you can't stop: the Netherlands, part 2
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  ∙  00:31:48
#5 The keys to life and death in someone else's hands: the Netherlands, part 1
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  ∙  00:32:03
#4 It can never be perfect, so why try and improve it?
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  ∙  00:32:24
#3 The 80-year-old outlaw
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  ∙  00:32:29
#2 How dare you want to end your life: Liz's story
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  ∙  00:25:08
#1 The invasion of death
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  ∙  00:00:43
Welcome

About this podcast

Join us as Andrew Denton investigates the stories, moral arguments and individuals woven into discussions about why good people are dying bad deaths in Australia – because there is no law to help them. 

Want to stay updated about this podcast, as well as other special projects from the Wheeler Centre? Subscribe to the Wheeler Weekly newsletter.

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Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.

If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890).


Your stories

If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here.

In the media

Ahead of the release of Better Off Dead – and since his Di Gribble Argument in October – Andrew Denton has spoken, written and debated the issue in the media.

 

Q&A - Facing Death

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In depth: Andrew Denton and Neil Mitchell talk euthanasia

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The Project - Andrew Denton | Facebook

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Discuss the series

More to say? Talk it out with the Wheeler Centre community.

All messages as part of this discussion and any opinions, advice, statements, or other information contained in any messages or transmitted by any third party are the responsibility of the author of that message and not the Wheeler Centre.


Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.
Portrait of Andrew Denton

Andrew Denton

Andrew Denton is widely recognised as one of Australian media's genuinely creative forces.