A voluntary assisted dying (VAD) bill in Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) will go through parliamentary inquiries. The NSW Legislative Council has begun the first out of three hearings from Wednesday, after a four-day long debate saw the proposed legislation, NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021, passed the lower house 52-32 on Nov. 26. The bill restricts VAD to terminally ill patients who would pass away in no more than 12 months. Two doctors would be needed to assess applicants, and any attempt to induce application for VAD will be deemed a criminal offence. Independent MP Alex Greenwich, who introduced the bill on Oct. 14, said it would give dying people the “choice, comfort, dignity, and respect that they deserve.” “Without the option of voluntary assisted dying, people who receive bad news about their terminal prognosis live in fear and sadly the rate of death by suicide among people who …