Much has been made of the AMA’s divided stances on voluntary assisted dying: while the Federal Association seems somewhat united, both past and present (the Federal president and three former Federal Presidents) have strongly come out against voluntary assisted dying.

On another the Victorian AMA President has both pushed back against this, and released a non-committal statement that neither supports nor opposes the Bill.

The AMA represents some 28,400 practicing Australian doctors, of some 66,660 registered medical practitioners and, as I’ll discuss in the next post, the official position does not so much represent the plurality, or even majority, of those members it has.

In contrast, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has over 35,000 members (making it “Australia’s largest professional general practice organisation”) and has come out in full support of the legislation:

(Source)

In addition, almost 80% of the Australian Medical Student Association support the Bill, demonstrating that the next generation of doctors appreciate the autonomy of patients whose dying suffering can’t be eased.