A majority of members of the lower house of Tasmania’s parliament voted Saturday in favor of voluntary assisted dying legislation, the End-of-Life Choices Bill 2020.

The legislation provides eligible persons access to voluntary assisted dying, “an efficient and effective process to enable them to exercise the chose to reduce their suffering by ending their lives legally.” To be eligible, state residents must be at least 18 years old, have decision-making capacity, act voluntarily, and be suffering from a relevant medical condition in order to access voluntary assisted dying. Medical conditions must be advanced, incurable, and irreversible; expected to cause the death of the person within 6 months. Those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases with a life expectancy of 12 months are excepted from the 6 month requirement.

Go Gentle Australia, a health charity group, has been a crucial voice responsible for charging the narrative surrounding voluntary assisted dying in Australia. The group states that “[v]oluntary assisted dying is not a choice between life and death. It is the choice of a terminally ill person about the manner and timing of their death (which is imminent and inevitable) and the suffering that must be endured.”

If the bill passes a final vote, Tasmania will become the third Australian state to legalize voluntary assisted dying. The bill, which passed Tasmania’s Legislative Council last month, will not go through the amendment process in the lower house or to a final vote until March 2021.