John Hont is the Vice-President of Dying With Dignity NSW. Here we talk about his life, work, and views.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What was early life like for you, e.g., geography, culture, language, religion or lack thereof, education, and family structure and dynamics?
John Hont: Please see https://www.dwdv.org.au/about-us/meet-the-board.
Jacobsen: What levels of formal education have been part of life for you? How have you informally self-educated?
Hont: As above.
Jacobsen: As the Vice-President of Dying With Dignity Victoria, what tasks and responsibilities come with the position?
Hont: Support the president and the board. Provide leadership, along with the president, on future directions of the organisation.
Jacobsen: What are some of the more tragic as well as heartwarming stories coming out of the work of Dying With Dignity Victoria?
Hont: Please see https://www.dwdv.org.au/takeaction/personal-stories-2.
Jacobsen: In terms of the activism of the past through Dying With Dignity Victoria, what have been important legal and sociocultural victories?
What have been some honest failures? How can others and yourselves learn from the failure and improve upon the successes?
Hont: Great success in 2017, with the passing of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act (VAD) 2017.
Jacobsen: Moving into 2019, what seems like some of the more important targeted objectives of Dying With Dignity Victoria for 2019?
Hont: Continue our public education program on VAD and Advance Care Directives. Monitor the outcomes from the VAD Act.
Jacobsen: Who tends to be the main opposition to the values, principles, and aims of Dying With Dignity Victoria? Why them? How can their counter-efforts be combatted?
Hont: Australian Christian Lobby, Right to Life. Combatted with tireless campaigning and providing factual evidence.
Jacobsen: In terms of the ways in which there have been written works around the right to die, dying with dignity, accompanied suicide, euthanasia, medical assistance in dying, and so on, what are the important articles and books to become more richly informed on the subject matter?
Hont: Rodney Syme’s A Good Death. Lots of articles and information on our website dwdv.org.au
Jacobsen: How can people become involved with the donation of time, the addition of membership, links to professional and personal networks, giving monetarily, exposure in interviews or writing articles, and so on?
Hont: People can join, donate, volunteer, or become a board member.
Jacobsen: Any final feelings or thoughts based on the conversation today?
Hont: I hope I have provided the information you were seeking.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, John.
Hont: You are welcome, Scott.
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Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing. He authored/co-authored some e-books, free or low-cost. If you want to contact Scott: Scott.D.Jacobsen@Gmail.com.
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Do not forget to look into our associates: Godless Mom, Nice Mangoes, Sandwalk, Brainstorm Podcast, Left at the Valley, Life, the Universe & Everything Else, The Reality Check, Bad Science Watch, British Columbia Humanist Association, Dying With Dignity Canada, Canadian Secular Alliance, and Centre for Inquiry Canada.
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Other Resources: Recovering From Religion.
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