Hospices don’t want assisted dying there

Hospices say they want more protections to ensure their facilities won’t be used for assisted dying if euthanasia legislation makes it through Parliament.

But the politician behind the bill, Act Leader David Seymour, says there’s no problem to be fixed.

The End of Life Choice Bill passed its second reading 70 votes to 50 in June and is now going through a series of debates about what changes are needed before it’s voted on for a final time.

The bill allows terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to request assisted dying and let’s doctors opt out of any part of the process.

National Party MP Michael Woodhouse, who opposes the legislation, has now proposed an amendment that would let hospices, agedcare facilities and faith-based providers be able to say they didn’t want anyone to be able to provide assisted dying on their premises.

“There is no legal prohibition on the ability of a doctor practising autonomously with a resident in a rest home to offer assisted dying services inside their facility,” he said.

Organisations were also worried that without further protections, those who didn’t want to participate would be at risk of coming under pressure to provide euthanasia services or lose public contracts,” he said.

Hospice New Zealand chair Richard Thurlow said assisted dying went against the character of the providers and their basic beliefs of neither hastening nor postponing death.

“We believe organisations should have a right to choose.”

But Seymour said while his bill didn’t explicitly prohibit doctors coming onto premises to provide euthanasia services, organisations would be able to include a prohibition in contracts with their patients.

The End of Life Choice Bill returns to Parliament for the second of five debates on amendments next week.