A woman who chose to end her own life through Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) used her final hours to call for Australia to remove the barriers around it.
Roz Hervey, 58, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2022 and told she had just two years to live.
Having dedicated her life to the arts through dance and creative direction, the thought of losing control over her body terrified Ms Hervey.
Rather than let the disease consume her, she decided she wanted to ‘curate’ a ‘good death’ that would be peaceful for her and her loved ones.
Ms Hervey took a moment out of her final day to film a video calling for the Australian government to make VAD more accessible.
‘It is so, so important that people have the opportunity to die with dignity,’ she said in the clip, aired on Australian Story.
‘I get to choose my beautiful surroundings, people who I love around me and dying in a calm, beautiful, and graceful way.’
Ms Hervey had an award-winning career as a dancer before settling down in Adelaide with her partner, Geoff Cobham, and having two children, Tilda and Huey Cobham-Hervey.
Roz Hervey (above) was diagnosed with a motor neurone disease in 2022 and took a moment out of her final day to share an impassioned plea.
Ms Hervey (pictured with her husband and children) ended her own life through Voluntary Assisted Dying
She decided soon after her diagnosis that she would use VAD as a tool to remove the heavy burden of her upcoming death.
By seizing control of the moment, Ms Hervey said she was able to better focus on making the most of the time she had left.
She and her family travelled overseas, hosted regular Sunday afternoon teas with loved ones and openly discussed the end of her life.
‘The bit that is so crazy is that there was so much joy. Weirdly, confronted by death, it taught us how to live,’ Tilda said.
Tilda, a film-maker, also filmed her mother’s response to her diagnosis, planning for VAD and the obstacles they had to wrangle with in getting the procedure in Australia.
VAD has been legalised in all Australian states and territories except for the Northern Territory, where it is in the final stages of being legalised.
However, a recent study by VAD advocacy group Go Gentle found only one in three Aussies were aware VAD was available for those with terminal illnesses.
Doctors in South Australia, where Ms Hervey was seeking VAD, are not allowed to initiate discussions about VAD with patients. A patient has to ask about it first.
Ms Hervey (pictured with her daughter, Tilda) called for Australia to reconsider its requirement for patients to be within 12 months of death before being approved for VAD
But even those who are aware that it is legal have significant obstacles to being allowed to proceed.
In order for a VAD permit to be approved, medical practitioners must confirm the patient is expected to die within six to 12 months – depending on their condition.
Ms Hervey feared that requirement would result in her losing control of her body before qualifying, the very reason she had wanted to access the procedure in the first place.
She successfully registered for Dignitas, an assisted dying program in Switzerland, but was later able to secure a VAD permit for Australia – only after her lungs were losing function.
She said she felt unsatisfied with the tough conditions for VAD in Australia and the hurdles she was required to jump through while she was ill, so Ms Hervey asked her daughter to film her call for Australia to relax restrictions.
‘I am sitting here with my beautiful family on my last day, looking out over vineyards and listening to the birds sing,’ she said just hours before her death.
‘I would really encourage people to talk about this more.
‘Allow doctors to talk to patients about it, allow the media to talk about it, so that everyone is aware of their right to die with dignity.’
