Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 11. The effect of the law was nullified in 1997 by the federal Parliament of Australia which passed the "Euthanasia Laws Act 1997". The Act continues on the Territory's statute books. Dr Philip Nitschke founded Exit International in response to the overturning of the Act. While voluntary euthanasia had previously been condoned officially in the Netherlands and the US state of Oregon, the act was the first time that a legislative assembly passed a law explicitly legalising euthanasia. The Act allowed a terminally ill patient to end their life with medical assistance, either by the direct involvement of a physician
LGBT rights in Belgium and public and private accommodations were enacted in 2003 and on gender identity/expression in 2014. Transgender people have been allowed to change their legal gender since 2007, though under certain circumstances, which were repealed in 2018. Belgium has frequently been officially referred to as one of the most gay friendly countries in the world, with recent polls indicating that the majority of Belgians support same-sex marriage and adoption rights. The previous Prime Minister of Belgium, Elio Di Rupo, is an openly gay man and was one of the only few head of states in the world to identify as LGBT.