Australian parliament ponders lifting euthanasia ban

A new bill was introduced in the Australian Parliament on Monday seeking to lift a 25-year ban on doctor-assisted suicide in two territories, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. Australia's sparsely populated Northern Territory in 1995 became the first place in the world to legalize voluntary euthanasia.

But the landmark law was overturned by the Australian Parliament two years later after four terminally ill people had been legally helped to die, leaving the Northern Territory one of last parts of Australia where doctor-assisted suicide remains banned. The two territories do not have the same legal rights as the six states. The territories account for fewer than 1 million of Australia's population of 26 million people.