Terminally ill Western Australians could take a drug to end their own lives, or ask a doctor to do it for them, under proposed laws to be introduced to State Parliament this week.

Key points: Eligible patients would be suffering with terminal illness where death is expected within six months

Eligible patients would be suffering with terminal illness where death is expected within six months That extents to 12 months if they are suffering a neurodegenerative condition

That extents to 12 months if they are suffering a neurodegenerative condition Doctors would be the only medical professionals allowed to sign off on an assisted dying request

The bill, which will be introduced by the McGowan Government on Wednesday, is a more conservative version of the voluntary assisted dying regime recommended by an expert panel earlier this year that was developed following criticism the framework was "not as safe" as the Victorian regime that came into effect in June.

The bill is now largely based on the Victorian model and if passed would make WA the second state in Australia to legalise the practise.

But it is far from guaranteed to pass the Parliament and is expected to the subject of intense debate, with MPs to be given a conscience vote.

The criteria for euthanasia

Under the proposed laws, a person would have to be 18 or over to qualify for voluntary euthanasia.

They would have to be terminally ill with a condition that is causing intolerable suffering, and is likely to cause death within six months or 12 months for a neurodegenerative condition.

The bill's introduction to Parliament comes after the findings from an expert panel were handed down in June. ( Unsplash: rawpixel )

The person would also have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and have been a WA resident for at least 12 months.

To access the regime, a person would have to make two verbal requests and one written request.

Those requests would have to be signed off by two doctors who are independent of each other.

There would be a minimum of nine days between the initial request and final approval.

The choice of lethal medication would be a clinical decision from an approved list of drugs.

Self-administration would be the preferred method, but in a departure from the Victorian regime, a patient could choose for a medical practitioner to administer the drug.

In Victoria, a doctor can only administer the drug if a patient is physically incapable.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook said the Government had taken a cautious approach in drafting the bill.

"We've taken much of the framework from Victoria but made sure that it suited the needs of Western Australians," he said.

"So the [proposed] laws that we have are safe, compassionate and cautious, and I think that would be the expectation of the community."

Only doctors authorised to make final call

The Government has rejected a recommendation from its expert panel, headed by former governor Malcolm McCusker, that a nurse practitioner be the second medical professional authorised to sign off on access to the regime, in place of a doctor.

The recommendation was aimed at addressing the scarcity of doctors in rural and remote Western Australia.

Mr Cook said the bill would instead allow for patients to access doctors by teleconference.

In another departure from the Victorian regime, a medical practitioner would not be prohibited from starting a conversation with a patient about accessing the voluntary assisted dying regime.

A five-person Voluntary Assisted Dying Board would be appointed to ensure the law was being properly followed.

New criminal offences would also be established to prevent patients from being coerced into accessing the regime.

Altogether, the WA Government said its legislation included 102 safeguards.

"I know there will be lots of people who try to scare others about this issue, but it's essentially an act of compassion, kindness for the terminally ill and in pain," Premier Mark McGowan said.

Doctors, religious groups object

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) of WA is opposed to voluntary assisted dying and has accused the Government of rushing the process.

"Currently in WA it can be difficult to get out of an ambulance into a hospital because of ambulance ramping, it can be difficult to get can cancer surgery in less than 30 days," AMA WA president Andrew Miller said.

"And now what they're proposing is you can be dead within 10 days of seeing a euthanasia doctor and getting only one other opinion."

Demonstrators against euthanasia protested in Victoria when that state became the first in Australia to legalise assisted dying. ( AAP Image: James Ross )

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said it would campaign against the bill because it would create pressure on the terminally ill.

"Because nobody wants to be a burden to their loved ones, the mere availability of it creates a subtle pressure to access it," ACL WA state director Peter Abetz said.

Debate on the bill is set to begin in three weeks.

'She died … rasping for air'

The bill has the backing of Perth woman Belinda Teh, who walked 4,500 kilometres from Melbourne to Perth in honour of her mother who died after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

"She died with her eyes wide open, rasping for air and spent her last four hours on Earth twitching in a bed in a specialist care facility in metro Perth," Ms Teh said.

She said her mother twice requested help to die on her terms, but was refused.

"I found out a year after that, this choice that my mum was asking for became available on the other side of the country [in Victoria]," she said.

"Why over there and not over here? I wished at that point that I could have put that law in my pocket and walked it back to WA so that my mum could have used it."

Voluntary assisted dying campaigner Belinda Teh with WA Premier Mark McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook on the steps of State Parliament. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Star power joins the euthanasia fight

TV personality Andrew Denton, who founded pro-assisted dying campaign group Go Gentle, joined the rally and commended Ms Teh on her journey.

"She is just inspirational not just on this issue but in the community at large," he said.

"I feel very strongly that it's time that this law was passed, as does the vast majority of the Western Australian community — you know, compassion over ideology.

TV personality Andrew Denton and former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist both lent their supported to proposed euthanasia laws. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"I hope the Parliament will reflect not just what this community so clearly wants, but will pay attention to what's happening in Victoria and other places in the world where these laws operate successfully and compassionately — and do what they're supposed to do and fix a law that currently isn't working well enough for people at the end of life."

Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist also joined Belinda Teh in the final leg of her walk and lent his support to her cause.

"I just think, why could this possibly not be a bill that gets passed in a successful manner?" he said.

"It's giving people the option to choose their own way and it's an option that none of us could possibly really understand or try to govern without allowing them that choice."