"And so we thought this was initially wonderful, we could rattle the tin for some time and then go to the pub. "We took our tin and rattled it and over the course of the next hour, the smiles faded from our faces, because no single person said 'no'." WA's Parliament is in the throes of debating euthanasia laws critics say are more liberal than Victoria's, and advocates are worried about safeguards for vulnerable people. Ms Connor said people gave her money and sat with her group to explain why they thought it would be a good idea for her to die. "There were people who said if they were in a wheelchair, they would also want to die," she said.

"And nobody said: 'Why do you want to die?' Nobody said: 'Are you okay?' "It was such an awful moment for our group of people and it was the thing that solidified for me that we actually can't safely put in place in this country assisted suicide legislation." Critics of the WA euthanasia bill – including some who support voluntary assisted dying – have slammed the state government for not adopting some of the safeguards included in the Victorian legislation to protect people with disabilities. "It's appalling that in a state where we have huge delays for disability carer support," Ms Connor said. "There are people who are living in hospitals and nursing homes in Western Australia and those people don't have the support that they need to live a good life.

Labor MP Tony Buti is supporting voluntary euthanasia legislation but has raised concerns about people with disabilities. Credit:Facebook "We can't support people to die before we support them to live." After the rally at which Ms Connor spoke, pro-euthanasia politicians voted down an amendment by Labor MP Tony Buti which would have prevented doctors suggesting voluntary assisted dying to a patient. Dr Buti, himself a supporter of voluntary assisted dying, proposed the safeguard which is included in Victoria's legislation. Outlining his reasons for proposing the amendment in an article in WAtoday, Dr Buti wrote about his 26-year-old daughter who lives with a disability.

"She is in many aspects a capable person," he said. "But it is doubtful that she will ever be able to live independently." Dr Buti told Parliament during the debate his daughter "can process information and she can make a decision, but what I am fearful of is that she wants to please". "I do not want to deny people with disabilities the right to be involved in VAD [voluntary assisted dying], but I want to ensure that they have not been coerced at all," he said. "Under this legislation, somebody could go to a doctor with a terminal illness – I gather with six to eight months to live on the balance of probabilities – and not even be thinking about VAD. "If they are easily led by a medical practitioner, within two weeks they could be dead. I think that is something we should try to prevent."

Dr Buti's amendment was supported by Kimberley MP Josie Farrer – also a supporter of voluntary assisted dying – who represents one of the state's biggest electorates which is home to many Aboriginal communities. A law to preventing doctors suggesting euthanasia would also protect Aboriginal people living in regional and remote WA, according to Dr Buti and both supporters and opponents of voluntary assisted dying. He said he was working as a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service when the Northern Territory introduced euthanasia legislation, a topic he discussed with clients. "They were so fearful of voluntary assisted dying, or euthanasia, whatever one wants to call it, because they thought that the state was coming after them," he said. "They said, 'we always have to do what people tell us to do', and they were very fearful.

Loading "The state is not coming after Indigenous people, but one can understand that in some remote communities, the relationship between the only doctor in the community and Aboriginal people is a very strong relationship, and there is a power imbalance. "I think Aboriginal people should be able to access VAD if they want to, but we should guard against the possibility that they would not have done so but for the initiation by the medical practitioner." Health Minister Roger Cook opposed the amendment banning doctors from suggesting euthanasia. "That the patient's decision is well informed is fundamental to the proposed model of voluntary assisted dying in Western Australia," he said during the parliamentary debate.

"Indeed, I believe there is an obligation on medical practitioners, in dispensing their professional obligations, to inform patients of all their treatment options. "In order to allay concerns about a health practitioner coercing or inadvertently encouraging a patient to seek access to voluntary assisted dying, at least two medical practitioners, the coordinating and consulting practitioners, must independently assess the patient." Debate in WA's Lower House is set to continue on September 17.