Queensland Right to Life (QRTL) seeks to promote a loving, caring and compassionate environment for the dying patient. What we aim for is unconditional love and support for the terminally ill or disabled person because every person deserves this, and is worthy of such treatment.
Because QRTL respects life at all ages and all stages, we are against the legalisation of euthanasia as this will remove protection for the seriously ill and disabled, allowing doctors to have the power to kill.
The majority of doctors oppose legalising euthanasia of a patient 'by
a doctor'. There is a real possibility that once doctors are given this power, even with strict guidelines in place, abuse will occur.
The situation is seen in the Netherlands where, despite the provision
of so-called "strict guidelines", thousands of citizens are killed without their consent.

QRTL does not object to the withdrawal of burdensome treatment or the administration of pain relieving treatments intending specifically to control pain, that may - as a secondary effect- bring forward time of death. This is not euthanasia. However, QRTL does object to the deliberate and intentional killing of a patient. Pro-life concern is not to prolong life at any cost, rather our concern is that all people, no matter how disabled, should be treated with respect and be provided with a supportive environment in which they are valued as persons. Euthanasia proposes the elimination of the person in distress in preference to the elimination of the distress in the person. A request
to be killed is a cry for help and that should not be denied. Pain management, palliative and hospice care delivered with love and compassion is the answer to that cry.

Euthanasia is...the deliberate and intentional killing of a human being by a direct action, such as a lethal injection, or the failure to perform even the most basic medical management such as the provision of nutrition and hydration, necessary to maintain life.

Euthanasia is not...the withdrawal of futile or burdensome treatment, or the administering of pain relieving treatment, even though that treatment may bring forward the time of death, if that is the only reasonable and available means of relieving the pain.

Palliative Care is...the care given to a terminally ill person facing
the final stages of his or her life. This care has historically been formulated in hospitals and is tailored to meet the individual needs of the patient. It is a service delivered by a team of health care professionals including doctors, nurses, pastoral workers, physiotherapists, chaplains and volunteers, and it is able to be given at the patient's residence. Palliative care demonstrates a profound respect for all persons and their emotional, physical, social and spiritual needs.

A Hospice is..an institution which cares specifically for the terminally ill person. The particular expertise is in Palliative care including pain management and counselling.

Some useful web links:

Euthanasia: Frequently Asked Questions
Euthanasia: Facts and Fiction
Euthanasia: Help for Individuals
Euthanasia: The Law in Australia
Euthanasia: What Does it Really Mean