Euthanasia Bill progresses in committee
WELLINGTON: The End of Life Choice Bill has moved through another phase of its committee stage in Parliament and opponents’ efforts to change the Bill have again been voted down.
National MPs put forward around 20 amendments to Act New Zealand leader David Seymour’s Bill on Wednesday night, but unlike the last session, where MPs stayed voting until 1am, the voting wrapped up at 10.30pm.
Mr Seymour’s chief opponent, National MP Maggie Barry, who apologised for yelling at Labour’s assistant speaker Ruth Dyson during the last debate, was not in the House on Wednesday night.
However, her proposed amendment got a lot of air time through her colleagues.
Ms Barry wanted the death certificate of someone who dies from assisted dying, for the purposes of any life insurance contract, to state that the person died as a result of the administration of medication.
National MP Melissa Lee told the House legislation should not compel someone to misreport or misrepresent a cause of death.
‘‘We should not try and hoodwink the actual reason why someone had in fact died . . . this Bill of David Seymour’s is trying to actually say they did not in fact die from a lethal dose of a poison.
‘‘That to me is actually a lie and I do not think that legislation should facilitate the falsehood,’’ Ms Lee said.
But Mr Seymour said there was no deceit or deception going on.
‘‘Under the requirements of this legislation, the death certificate says that the person died of the illness that qualified them to be eligible for assisted dying, also the fact that they died from assisted dying.
‘‘So anybody reading that certificate I think can figure out that this was done under the law.
‘‘There’s no subterfuge. It’s very easy for anybody to read and understand what that’s saying,’’ Mr Seymour said.
The amendment was voted down 38 votes to 81.
The End of Life Choice Bill will be up in the House again late next month when New Zealand First’s proposal that the Bill be put to the public in a referendum is expected to be debated. — RNZ