Will the Coalition ever learn to stop imposing religion on the public?

Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our Publishing Guidelines. Dear Editor, Perhaps the Coalition's resounding defeat might be an opportunity to deliver some feedback: stop imposing religious beliefs on the public. We live in a democracy, not a theocracy. It was the defeat of the Northern Territory's democratically introduced Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT) by the Coalition's then federal government that stopped me voting for the Coalition. I had until that time been an active supporter of the Liberal Party. I now vote independents. Although I am a progressive Christian, I believe in a separation of church and state. I am a member of Dying With Dignity (NSW) and Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD). What really annoys me is the theological ignorance of the opponents of VAD. They base their objection on the commandment not to kill. But the original Hebrew word (retzach) in the Old Testament had the meaning of 'murder with malice', which is very different to 'mercy killing'. VAD is not a choice between life and death, but a choice between two different ways of dying. My New Revised Standard Version of the Bible uses the word 'murder'. One word has caused so much grief for people dying badly! So Kevin Andrews and his ilk imposed their ignorant dogma on other people, denying Territorians of nearly 30 years of the choice to die with dignity, and delayin...