Euthanasia

The euthanasia debate is heating up with another punt at legalising voluntary death set for later this year.

Act leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was pulled from the ballot in June after lying dormant in the House’s infamous biscuit tin since 2015.

Euthanasia would be a conscience vote — MPs would vote individually, rather than along party lines.

Speaking after his private member’s bill was selected, Seymour said 40 MPs had indicated they would support it, while 27 said they would oppose it. Another 50 had said they were undecided.

He needs 61 votes for a majority at the first reading.

English, a practising Catholic, previously said he is firmly against legalising euthanasia.

NZ First wants whatever Kiwis want. The party said they would pay close attention to public submissions and call for a referendum after informed debate.

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern supported the idea of giving Kiwis choice but wanted protections put in legislation to safeguard vulnerable people.

The Green Party has similar ideas to Labour, backed by their MedicallyAssisted Dying policy. It does not support extending assisted dying to people who aren’t terminally ill because the party is not confident that this won’t further marginalise the lives of people with disabilities.

A similar bill put forward by NZ First MP Peter Brown in 2003 was narrowly defeated, 60-57.

The current bill would allow mentally competent New Zealand adults who have either a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months or a grievous and irremediable medical condition, the choice to ask a doctor to help end their life at the time of their choosing.

The Director-General of Health would establish a group of medical practitioners who would maintain a register of health professionals willing to participate in assisted dying.

Two medical practitioners would be required to be satisfied a person met the criteria.

Early last year, former Prime Minister John Key announced a parliamentary inquiry into euthanasia, by the health select committee.

The committee received 21,533 submissions on the issue for their report released in August, indicating intense public interest. Most of the submissions were opposed to changing the law.

Committee chairman Simon O’Connor said the report did not make any formal recommendations to the Government about whether euthanasia should be legalised. It instead gave a summary of the arguments for and against assisted dying. Dying on his own terms, with his soulmate by his side, is all terminally ill John Titchener wants.

As aggressive prostate cancer spreads to his lymph nodes the Hamilton man is spending his last days campaigning for voluntary euthanasia. He passionately believes that other people should not have the right to decide how others should die.

“I can understand people believing there’s some value in suffering,” Titchener told the

“They are welcome to suffer as much as they like. But they don’t have the right to tell me I must suffer . . . because of their beliefs”.

Act leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill on voluntary euthanasia will be debated after the election. It will be decided by a conscience vote — meaning MPs would vote individually, rather than along party lines.