The disastrous Northern Territory legislation will prove to be either a peculiar and regrettable aberration, or the setting of a precedent. To a very great extent, the fate of Mr Quirke's bill will decide which. I repeat my call, made in last week's newsletter, asking that you write immediately to your local State member of parliament, declaring your opposition to the bill. An effective letter need say little more than that. It is probably fair to say that, at this stage, it is more the weight of the mailbags than the weight of the arguments in the letters which will sway members of parliament.
Handwritten letters are preferable to letters from a word processor.
The value and respect due to human life from conception to death are radically undermined by all attempts to legitimise the killing of human beings through the practice of euthanasia. I have written to Mr Michael Armitage, M. P. for Adelaide, and to the premier. I urge you to do likewise, or to ring your member's office and ask his position on this question. Please do not delay acting according to your conscience. Police warn that, though small, these cylinders explode with great force.