The bill, which passed its third and final reading on November 13, “gives people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying”, according to its description on Parliament’s website. A referendum will be put to the public at the next elections.

The letter is signed by leaders of the Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican and Lutheran churches, the Federation of Islamic Associations and the Salvation Army.

“We speak out of our extensive experience of actively caring for the dying and their whanau,” the leaders stated, adding they are expressing their ethical, philosophical and practical concerns, not religious arguments.

They listed seven concerns about the final form of the bill as it went into its third reading.

These include the risk that people will choose a premature death because they lack proper care choices. The letter refers to Canadian and American evidence which shows that euthanasia/ assisted suicide laws have led to numerous patients choosing assisted deaths because of unmet service
needs. High-quality palliative care for the terminally ill is not yet available equitably throughout New Zealand, they wrote.

“Until it is, there is a strong likelihood that New Zealanders will also choose assisted death because of a lack of other meaningful choices. In such a context, there is the real risk that people in lower socio-economic groups will find themselves being channelled unnecessarily and unjustly towards a premature death.”

The religious leaders also expressed their fears that the introduction of an assisted death law might have an adverse effect on this nation’s already tragic rates of suicide, noting that there is some overseas evidence
that it may contribute to an increase in non-assisted
suicides.

And they identified the failure of Parliament to include an amendment to the bill that would allow for institutions to
exercise a right of conscience not to participate.

The letter describes this failure as “the unethical imposition of assisted death on those carers and healthcare providers for whom the provision of assisted dying would directly contradict their medical, ethical, philosophical, spiritual and/or historical traditions”.

The letter said this is not the right time for New Zealand to be contemplating a euthanasia law: “Only when effective palliative care is a real choice for all New Zealanders will
we, as a country, be in a position to have a proper discussion about offering assisted dying as an additional
end-of-life option.”

Meanwhile, more resources need directing to enhancing palliative care nationally and addressing rising rates of depression and social isolation of our elders, it adds.

Should the bill pass its third reading in its current form, its coming into force would be subject to a referendum.

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The long-awaited Justice Select Committee report on ACT MP David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was finally presented to Parliament on April 9. Critically, the committee, having heard more than 38,700 submissions, of which more than 90 per cent were opposed, “were unable to agree that the bill be passed” and did not recommend any substantial changes.

The committee has suggested some minor adjustments, described by them as being technical and consequential
amendments, should the bill to be passed into law.

Dr Peter Thirkell, secretary of the Care Alliance (of which The Nathaniel Centre is a member organisation), welcomed the select committee’s own statement that the End of Life Choice Bill “is not workable in its present state”, stating in his press release that “Mr Seymour should withdraw his bill immediately. It is simply not feasible for MPs to try to ‘fix’ the bill during the Committee of the whole House stage, as that would deny New Zealanders their right to have a say
on different proposals. This is simply too serious an issue for ad hoc amendments to be made on the floor of the House with no expert or wider consultation.”

Now that it has been returned to the House, the bill will face its second reading and second vote as early as May 1. Should it pass, the bill will then go to the Committee Stage of the whole House ,where it will be debated, clause by clause, by all MPs.

David Seymour, the bill’s sponsor, has made it clear that he will put forward further amendments should the bill get through its second reading, including restricting the bill to people with a “terminal illness”, a change which would
involve removing “grievous and irremediable medical condition” as a criterion for eligibility.

While this is an attempt to tighten the bill’s eligibility criteria, it ignores the overwhelming evidence from overseas which shows that there is, inevitably, a logical progression to widening the scope and criteria. It also fails to deal with the inherent risks to the most vulnerable
at the core of the bill.

Other organisations which are members of the Care Alliance include the Australia and NZ Society of Palliative Medicine, Palliative Care Nurses NZ, Health Professionals Alliance, Hospice NZ, Not Dead Yet Aotearoa and the Salvation Army. The Care Alliance is currently circulating a nation-wide petition to remind MPs of the opposition to this bill that exists in the community.

Dr John Kleinsman is director of The Nathaniel Centre — the New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre.

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Simon O’Connor, MP for Tamaki (National), spoke in Hamilton on December 4 at the Gerry Sullivan Events Centre on euthanasia and on why he is opposed to it and what people can do about the debates that would take place in Parliament.

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