Taylor was charged with two counts of aiding suicide and one count each of trafficking dangerous drugs, possessing dangerous drugs and receiving or possessing property obtained from trafficking or supplying.
An 81-year-old Southport woman, Elaine Arch-Rowe, was charged with one count each of aiding suicide, trafficking dangerous drugs, and possessing dangerous drugs. Arch-Rowe was applying for bail in the Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Taylor’s father was charged with one count each of trafficking dangerous drugs and possessing dangerous drugs.
Police also alleged Taylor openly sold euthanasia drugs in public meetings in at least one instance and believed the operation could be connected to 20 suicides across Australia.
Asked about the alleged operation on Tuesday, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the matter was “totally unacceptable” and he endorsed the police investigation.
“It is totally unacceptable for anyone to prey on vulnerable people who are understandably at their wits’ end when it comes to dealing with these terrible, terrible situations,” Nicholls said.
“You would be less than human if you didn’t feel that way, and anyone engaging in these sorts of things should feel the full force of the law and should feel it properly and quickly.”
Queensland legalised voluntary assisted euthanasia for terminally ill patients in 2021, with the laws coming into effect in January 2023.
To access euthanasia, Queensland adults must have been diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced, progressive, would cause death within 12 months and was causing intolerable suffering.
The person must be assessed by two doctors, make three separate requests, and they can change their mind at any time.
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