Helga Kuhse

Helga Kuhse is an Australian utilitarian philosopher and bioethicist. Born in Hamburg, Germany, on 26 March 1940, she emigrated to Australia in 1962. From the 1970s, she was one of the first philosophers to address the ethical implications of developments in biotechnology and biomedicine. Kuhse, along with Peter Singer, founded the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University in 1980, which was one of the first research centers in the world dedicated entirely to bioethics. She served as Director of the Centre until June 1999. Her ideas concerning the end of life, the right to die, and assisted death have generated considerable controversy globally. Kuhse is a notable advocate for the legalization of voluntary assisted euthanasia. Her work is credited by many, including former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia, Marshall Perron, as inspiration for the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. This act was the first legislation worldwide to legalize euthanasia, though it was later overturned by the Australian Federal Government in 1997. Kuhse has been a member of various ethics committees and an expert advisor to Australian parliaments on euthanasia legislation. In 1987, she co-founded the international academic journal *Bioethics* with Peter Singer, and they also established the International Association of Bioethics. She currently holds the position of Honorary Research Fellow at Monash University.