Newcastle's Abbey Egan tells Voluntary Assisted Dying bill inquiry about partner Jayde Britton's horrific death and VAD legislation could have helped

The inquiry into the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) bill heard how Jayde's last days were "nothing short of hell" for the 32-year-old Islington woman, who died at home of cervical cancer in October 2018.

Ms Egan hoped sharing the story of Jayde's "immensely distressing" death would "humanise" why the bill needed to pass - both for the sake of terminally ill people, and their loved ones.

She shared the "gory details" of Jayde's last days, because, as she told the inquiry; "You can have all the paperwork and all the facts, but until you hear about the things that can happen, you really don't know."

"The way she was forced to leave this world was horrific, and so unjust," Ms Egan said. "And these are the last memories of the person I loved most in the world."

Jayde had been an "incredible fighter", but the palliative care she received had not been enough.

"This bill needs to pass so we can stop unnecessary suffering for people who are already terminal at a time that is already filled with distress and trauma," Ms Egan told the Newcastle Herald.

"NSW is the last state to have this pass. Why should people in our community of NSW endure pain when the rest of the states do not.

"If this legislation had existed when Jayde was dying, she would have accessed it. She told me that herself. And it would have brought her great comfort to know her suffering could end."

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The bill proposes that only adults diagnosed with a terminal illness that will cause death within six months, or 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions, can access voluntary assisted dying.

Two experienced doctors will need to independently come to the conclusion that the patient is acting voluntarily and without pressure, and registered health practitioners may refuse to participate in voluntary assisted dying.

The inquiry raised concerns people were at risk of being coerced into accessing assisted dying, but witnesses with lived experience insisted it was about choice and empowerment within a "robust and closely monitored" legal framework that was currently denied to the terminally ill in NSW.

Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper, one of the VAD bill's co-sponsors and co-authors, said voluntary assisted dying was not about politicians, religion, or even doctors.

"It's about people with a terminal illness having a choice about their final days," he said. "People like Abbey Egan and her family, including Jayde Britton's family, don't want to be heroes. They just want the politicians to do something about the horrific suffering that many terminally-ill people endure. Those who appeared before the inquiry showed tremendous courage and are the voices for those who no longer have one."

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