In a last-ditch effort to save the medevac laws, advocacy groups are urging Senator Jacqui Lambie to "vote for humanity and compassion".
The laws, which give doctors more say in emergency medical transfers of offshore asylum seekers to Australia, look set to face a repeal vote in the Senate within days.
Senator Lambie holds the crucial swing vote and has .
Hundreds of asylum seekers remain on PNG and Nauru. Source: Getty Images
Her high-stakes decision has seen a number of refugee advocacy groups step up lobbying efforts, including sending delegations to Parliament.
The Human Rights Law Centre issued a statement on Monday saying, "the medevac laws work by putting doctors, not politicians, at the heart of decisions about people's medical care".
Crossbench Senator Jacqui Lambie. Source: AAP
Doctors have requested more than 150 asylum seeker transfers since the laws passed against the Coalition's wishes in February.
Legal director with the Human Rights Law Centre David Burke said prior to the laws, sick asylum seekers needed to take legal action to receive proper medical treatment.
"Before the medevac laws, people were forced to go to court to get the medical care they urgently needed. We were in court at all hours, on weekends and even on Christmas Eve to secure medical evacuations. No one should have to rely on the court system to get proper medical care," he said.
"Senator Lambie can vote for humanity and compassion by saving the medevac laws. We must not return to a process that saw politicians and bureaucrats ignore doctors' recommendations for medical transfers, sometimes for years on end."
He said twelve people from offshore detention died before the medevac laws were passed and "most of those deaths were the result of physical or mental health conditions that were inadequately treated".
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has sent staff to Canberra to "appeal to senators, especially Senator Lambie".
CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis said the medevac laws had stopped "further loss of life due to medical neglect".
"Prime Minister Morrison just claimed in a national press conference that his government always honours Australia's obligations to the Refugee Convention," he said in a statement.
"The ASRC calls on Senator Jacqui Lambie to make sure Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps his word on the Refugee Convention and human right to medical treatment by saving the medevac laws."
And the Royal Australasian College of Physicians has also urged the Senate to keep the medevac laws intact.
"We know that previous delays and failures to transfer ill asylum seekers resulted in preventable suffering," president Mark Lane said.
The medevac laws allow for extremely sick asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea or Nauru to be transferred to Australia temporarily on the advice of two independent Australian doctors.
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton maintains the power to deny the application.
The government claims the scheme weakens border protection.
"From our point of view it is very important that the medevac legislation is repealed," Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told ABC radio on Monday.
"Labor, in the lead up to the last election, forced legislation through the parliament that essentially outsourced our migration system and a key feature of our national security arrangements to advocates who happen to also be doctors."
He said sick asylum seekers and refugees would still be able to come to Australia once the medevac laws were repealed.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann speaks during a press conference. Source: AAP
"Medical transfers were available before the legislation, they will be available after the legislation has been repealed, but subject to more appropriate safeguards," he said.
With additional reporting from AAP
