Journalist shares wife’s tragic plight
Wellington journalist David Barber, a life member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, is more used to reporting the news than making it.
But yesterday he took the opportunity to take part in the political process by making a submission to the health committee’s inquiry into medically assisted dying.
He shared the story of his late wife, Frances, also a journalist, who suffered from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and how her experience shaped his views on assisted dying.
The inquiry has been running for a year and follows a petition presented by former Labour MP Maryan Street and 8974 others.
The scope of the committee’s inquiry includes looking at:
The reasons for choosing to end one’s life.
The effectiveness of services and support available to those who want to end their lives.
The attitudes of New Zealanders towards ending one’s life and the current legal situation. International experiences. The committee received over 21,000 submissions on the petition. Of those, about 1800 asked to appear in person.
There is no deadline by which the health committee’s report on the matter has to be reported back.
It is not known yet whether it will make any recommendations for a new law.
Act leader David Seymour has a member’s bill, the End of Life Choice Bill, in the member’s ballot but it is a matter of chance whether it will be drawn out.
His bill would give people with a terminal illness or a grievous and irremediable medical condition the option of requesting assisted dying.
Parliament has twice before debated euthanasia but both bills were defeated at their first readings.
The first time was in 1995, when Michael Laws’ Death with Dignity Bill was defeated 61 to 29.
The second time was in 2003, when Peter Brown’s Death with Dignity Bill was defeated 60 to 58.