Fiona Stewart (born 15 May 1966) is an Australian lawyer, sociologist, author and former executive director of the pro- euthanasia group ''

Exit International Exit International is an international non-profit organisation advocating legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. It was previously known as the ''Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation'' (VERF Inc.). Exit International ...

'' (2004-7). She is author of ''Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia and the road to the Peaceful Pill'' and co-author of ''

The Peaceful Pill Handbook ''The Peaceful Pill Handbook'' is a book setting out information on assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Written by the Australian doctor Philip Nitschke and lawyer Fiona Stewart, it was originally published in the U.S. in 2006. A Germa ...

'' (eHandbook version). Stewart authored the Peaceful Pill Handbook series.

Early life and career

Fiona Stewart was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in 1966. She was educated at

Lauriston Girls' School (Holiness, Wisdom, Strength) , established = 1901 , type = Independent, single-sex, day school , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = A school for life , principal ...

. She received her BA from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

in 1987 followed by a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy (

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

) in 1992, Master of Policy and Law (

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

) in 1994 and her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple ac ...

from Latrobe in 1998. She graduated from

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with a main campus in Darwin and eight satellite campuses in some metropolitan and regional areas. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Territory University ...

Law School in 2015. From 1997 to 1999 Stewart held a postdoctoral fellowship at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

for the study of ''‘Womens Lives: Choice, Change and Identity’''. When her contract was not renewed, she turned to writing opinion columns for the media on

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Prior to working with Nitschke on The Peaceful Pill eHandbook and in Exit International, Stewart worked as an opinion writer for

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

and other Australian papers and media outlets, and as an online learning consultant with Professor

Dale Spender Dale Spender (born 22 September 1943)''The Bibliography of Australian Literature: P–Z'' edited by John Arnold, John Hay (page 409). is an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant. In 1983, Dale Spender was co-founder of an ...

. In 2001, Stewart founded the consumer complaints website Notgoodenough.org, where she was active in promoting the consumer standpoint and criticising big businesses such as

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

, the national carrier. She has participated widely in Australian public debate on varied current affairs issues.

Euthanasia

Fiona met euthanasia activist

Philip Nitschke Philip Haig Nitschke (; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group EXIT (Australia), Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia la ...

at the Brisbane Festival of Ideas in 2001 during the Late Night Live debate ‘There’s no such thing as a new idea’. The couple married in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

in 2009. In the 2014 Victorian election she stood for the Upper House for the

Voluntary Euthanasia Party The Voluntary Euthanasia Party (VEP) was a minor political party in Australia, founded in early 2013 by Corey McCann to advocate for legislative change to allow voluntary euthanasia in Australia. The party's inception was strongly supported by Dr ...

Books

Stewart is the author of three books: * ''Internet Communication and Qualitative Research''; Sage, 2000 (With Dr Chris Mann) * ''Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia and the road to the Peaceful Pill''; Penguin, 2005 * ''The Peaceful Pill Handbook'' series

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Fiona 1966 births Living people Euthanasia activists Euthanasia in Australia Monash University alumni People educated at Lauriston Girls' School

Early life and career

Euthanasia

Books

See also

References