What do Australians with dementia think about voluntary assisted dying? Until recently, no researchers had thought to ask.

Our two small studies change that. These are the first to include Australians with dementia in research about voluntary assisted dying.

We found Australians with dementia who are frightened of what’s ahead, and who want a choice in how they live and die.

Dementia is a terminal condition, meaning it cannot be cured and is likely to lead to someone’s death. In fact, it’s Australia’s leading cause of death.

People with dementia want to die well but don’t always have a good death. This has led to calls from community, advocacy and professional groups for people with dementia to have greater choice in their end-of-life care, including voluntary assisted dying.

But under Australia’s laws, people with dementia cannot choose voluntary assisted dying as part of their end-of-life care. The main concern relates to people’s capacity to make informed choices about their care as the dementia progresses.

This is unlike other countries, including The Netherlands and Canada, which have special provisions for some people with dementia to choose voluntary assisted dying, with certain safeguards.

Read more: People with dementia aren’t currently eligible for voluntary assisted dying. Should they be?

We asked Australians with dementia their thoughts about voluntary assisted dying as an end-of-life care option.

First, we surveyed 36 people to determine their voluntary assisted dying needs and preferences.

The participants were overwhelmingly supportive of Australians with dementia having the option to choose voluntary assisted dying. They stressed the importance of their choices being........

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