(LifeSiteNews) — A 26-year-old Australian woman with a life-limiting illness has announced plans to end her life via assisted suicide sometime this year.

It’s impossible to hear the story of Annaliese Holland and not be sympathetic to her plight. Annaliese suffers from a devastating condition called Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG), which has left her in constant pain and unable to process solid food. Many of her organs have shut down and she has a permanent line into her heart for sustenance. Although AAG is not terminal in every case, since Annaliese was diagnosed later in life, the delay in treatment means she could die within a year.

Annaliese has stated that prior to her diagnosis with AAG eight years ago, she had been against assisted suicide, but her views changed after meeting another AAG patient, Lily Thai. Annaliese recalls that the girls encouraged one another with the thought of going to heaven and being able to eat again.

They were close friends until Lily took her life in 2023 under the newly-passed voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation in their home state of South Australia. Annaliese says that the experience of holding her friend’s hand as she was put to death made her see assisted suicide as an option for the first time.

Earlier in her illness, Annaliese did not raise the issue of assisted suicide in her public statements, focusing instead on good palliative care and raising awareness of the hospice system. In fact, Annaliese once cited actor Michael J. Fox as being an inspiration to her; Fox has lived for 35 years with the neurodegenerative condition, Parkinson’s disease.

Under South Australian law, medical professionals are prohibited from initiating a discussion about VAD, so since the death of her friend, Annaliese has used her own experience as a way of promoting assisted suicide. Her social media channels chronicle the gruelling daily regime which keeps her alive – for now. Injections, feeding tubes, and frequent hospital visits are all documented online. She describes her version of a bucket list, sharing posts about her completing various experiences such as witnessing a birth, holding a baby, and “getting married,” albeit without a groom.

Annaliese’s story adds to the prominent and very positive treatment of assisted suicide by the Australian media. This has been amplified by the recent death of popular radio host, James Valentine. Valentine, a long-time advocate of VAD, chose to end his own life after battling oesophageal cancer for two years. Following his death, his family released a statement which read: “Throughout his illness, James did it his way, which lasted all the way until the end. Both he and his family are grateful he was given the option to go out on his own terms.”

Annaliese echoes those same sentiments, telling an interviewer, “At 21, I realised I was terminal. At 26, I’m choosing to die on my own terms.”

Annaliese’s choice to take her own life is given a further gloss of legitimization by interviews with the doctor who will be assisting with her death, Dr. Chloe Furst. In Annaliese’s own words, Furst is “passionate and loving” and a “beautiful human.” Many would not agree, believing that a doctor who encourages and helps a patient to kill herself is morally guilty of murder.

Both Annaliese and Furst recently received a joint “Woman of the Year” award from a media outlet based in their home town of Adelaide, South Australia. This award further cements the idea in the public’s mind that assisted suicide is a laudable and “brave” decision.

Describing medical professions who are opposed to assisted suicide, Furst says that someone’s “own  moral objection shouldn’t infringe on someone else’s opportunity to access [VAD].”

Annaliese agrees, explaining her experience with doctors who are opposed to euthanasia:

I had a bit of a fight with a few doctors about it because not everyone believes in it. But it’s something that needs to be spoken about and needs to be brought up because it is a choice and no-one’s saying you have to do it.

Although her positive outlook is itself inspirational in many ways, it is a great tragedy that this young woman feels she must cut her life short. Likewise, it is tragic that her family is allowing her to choose VAD, apparently without any objections. She says her father “understands” and her mother, while saying she “hopes for a miracle,” also says she is realistic about her daughter’s prognosis.

This stands in contrast to the case of the young Spanish woman, Noelia Castillo Ramos, who opted for assisted suicide despite her father fighting for years to stop her premature death. Noelia’s best friend attempted at the last moment to get her to reconsider, but was blocked by hospital staff. Strangers from the pro-life community who heard about her decision held a silent vigil at the hospital as she died. It is tragic that there seems to be no-one willing to challenge Annaliese Holland in her bid to commit suicide.

Ultimately, Annaliese believes that the decision to end her own life is based on her bodily autonomy, the same erroneous philosophy that justifies abortion in the eyes of many mothers. She says:

At the end of the day, it’s my body. I’ve spent 12-plus years being part of a system, a number, not a person. And just pain inflicted on me and it was my turn for it to be my choice, not someone else’s choice.

While initially Annaliese wanted to spend her short life helping others by inspiring them to reach for their dreams, it is harrowing that she now uses her platform to encourage young people to pursue assisted suicide. In fact, with so much positive media coverage of her plan to take her own life, Annaliese risks becoming something of a poster-girl for assisted suicide in Australia.