Destination Death: A review of Australian legal regulation around international travel to end life

Travel for euthanasia or assisted suicide--so-called "death tourism"--is a controversial emerging subset of medical travel. Both anecdotal reports and research indicate that individuals from around the world, including Australians, are travelling abroad to source medications or procedures that hasten death. This article surveys the laws that govern these markets, and asks--using the Australian framework as a case study--whether current criminal laws are themselves facilitating, even driving, this new form of medical travel. It is suggested that the complex, uncertain and often problematic nature of provisions around assisting death in Australia is making euthanasia travel increasingly desirable for those wishing to end their lives.