Following a lengthy debate, the state’s upper house has passed legislation legalising voluntary assisted dying.
The bill was approved by the lower house on Thursday.
After MPs discussed almost 100 late amendments through the night and again Thursday morning, the bill received 23 votes in favor and 15 abstentions.
The Labor and Liberal parties permitted members to vote how they chose on the bill, ensuring that opinions were not divided along party lines.
The bill’s sponsor, Independent MP Alex Greenwich, introduced it to the House of Representatives late last year with 28 co-sponsors from all across the political spectrum.
‘I’d like to thank euthanasia advocates who have spent decades campaigning for this kind of measure,’ Labor MLC Adam Searle said after the bill passed in the lower house.
However, Finance Minister Damien Tudehope described the passage of the bill as a ‘dark day’ that would be remembered as a ‘dreadful mistake.’
‘It was a sad day for NSW because it gave us an opportunity to show that we could do better than this,’ he added.