The NT's "gag clause" stops doctors from raising assisted dying with a patient who hasn't asked. Critics call it censorship. This episode looks at what it does and why it exists. Update: the NT parliament passed the bill on 27 August, with the gag clause and the 12-month prognosis limit intact. ABC News Ahead of the Northern Territory parliament's vote on its Rights of the Terminally Ill bill, one clause drew most of the fire: a ban on health professionals initiating conversations about voluntary assisted dying. Media coverage calls it a gag clause. In this episode of Life in 5, we look at what the provision covers, the power imbalance between a frightened patient and the doctor they trust most, and why the people who campaigned for VAD want it gone. Andrew Denton of Go Gentle Australia welcomed the bill, and the Labor opposition confirmed it would push to cut both the gag clause and the prognosis time frame. NEOS KOSMOS What the clause does: it keeps the doctor from being the one to introduce assisted dying to a patient who hasn't asked. Why it exists: a dying patient is often in pain, exhausted, and inclined to weigh a doctor's judgement above almost anyone else's. The push to widen it: what the amendments would change, and what removing the prognosis limit does to the meaning of "terminal."