Health & Fitness

Voices From Voluntary Assisted Dying

by Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith

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Latest episodes

Episode 29 – SA Deputy Premier Kyam Maher reflects on the hard-fought push for VAD

September 6, 2026 · 23 min

Kyam Maher, South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, reveals how his mother's harrowing pancreatic cancer death drove him to introduce South Australia's successful 2020 voluntary assisted dying legislation—succeeding where 15…
Episode 28 – How the NT's New VAD Law Falls Short of 1995

August 30, 2026 · 25 min

Marshall Perron drafted the world's first voluntary assisted dying legislation in 1995 as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – decades before most nations even debated the issue, and years before it was overturned by federal…
Episode 27 – You Can't Always Cure, But You Can Always Heal

August 23, 2026 · 38 min

Voluntary assisted dying isn't just about end-of-life choice – it challenges medicine to rethink its purpose. Dr Clare Fellingham argues that while medicine cannot always cure, it can always heal by reducing suffering, preserving dignity…
Episode 26 – Sandra’s journey to access VAD

July 26, 2026 · 25 min

This year, Sandra was diagnosed with the same aggressive lung cancer that took her father's life. Having spent thirteen years as an ambulance clinician and watched her father suffer through chemotherapy, she understood exactly what…
Episode 25 – Nicole

June 28, 2026 · 23 min

The experience of voluntary assisted dying is shaped not only by legislation, but by access. Nicole’s family discovered that geography, travel requirements and gaps in healthcare services can create significant barriers for people facing…

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Episode 24 – Why We Need Better Conversations About Dying

June 14, 2026 · 42 min

Death is universal, yet modern society often treats it as something hidden, feared and rarely discussed. Cultural anthropologist and Buddhist scholar Dr Hannah Gould explores how religion, medicine, mortality and voluntary assisted dying…
Episode 23 - The Rural Reality of Voluntary Assisted Dying with Dr Tim Leeuwenburg

May 31, 2026 · 28 min

Access to voluntary assisted dying can depend heavily on where a patient lives. Rural doctor Dr Tim Leeuwenburg sees this firsthand through his work on Kangaroo Island, where patients often face long delays, travel burdens and complex…
Episode 22 - How the ACT Legalised Voluntary Assisted Dying

April 28, 2026 · 49 min

ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne reflects on the long and complex journey to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in the ACT, from the overturning of Northern Territory laws in 1997 to the restoration of territory rights in 2022 and the…
Episode 21 – From Advocacy to Law: The Evolution of VAD in New Zealand

March 23, 2026 · 44 min

Voluntary assisted dying can provide dignity and relief at the end of life, but legislation must balance access with safeguards. Ann David, former President of New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Society, shares her personal journey into…
Episode 20 – Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith’s own reflections on VAD

March 9, 2026 · 46 min

Roles are reversed this episode as Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith – who normally sits in the host’s chair – is interviewed by previous guest, Jane Nosworthy, VAD support group facilitator with Dying With Dignity Victoria. Laureen shares her own…
Episode 19 - Inside Victoria’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Reforms

January 28, 2026 · 49 min

Jane Morris, President of Dying with Dignity Victoria, traces her lifelong commitment to voluntary assisted dying, shaped by childhood experiences, nursing practice, bioethics study, and the traumatic death of her mother from motor neurone…
Episode 18 - Kimberly

December 16, 2025 · 22 min

Kimberly shares the deeply personal experience of supporting two loved ones through motor neurone disease and voluntary assisted dying. Rohan who declined rapidly after his 2020 diagnosis, discovered accessing VAD was slow and complex. It…

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About the show

This podcast series aims to share stories from the family members of loved ones who have accessed Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in South Australia. VAD enables eligible people to voluntarily access and self-administer - or in some cases have a doctor administer - a medication that will end their life. The journeys undertaken in this podcast are deeply personal and reflective of the speakers' own experiences and circumstances. VAD in South Australia is only accessible to people who meet strict criteria. Comprehensive information on Voluntary Assisted Dying in Your State is provided on the Go Gentle website at https://www.gogentleaustralia.org.au/vad_in_your_state or by contacting your State Health Department. If listening to this podcast raises distressing issues for you, please contact one of the following support services: Griefline (https://griefline.org.au/) 1300 845 745 Grief Australia (https://www.grief.org.au/) 1800 642 745 Lifeline (https://www.lifeline.org.au/) 13 11 14, or chat online 24 hours a day