‘ It would’ve meant the world to Lecretia’
Politicians last night voted for assisted dying legislation after years-long battle
The legacy of euthanasia campaigner Lecretia Seales reverberated through Parliament last night as MPs debated whether to send a decision on legalising assisted death to a national referendum.
New Zealand’s MPs yesterday stepped towards history as they debated the bill, which would hand the final decision on assisted dying to the public. Lecretia Seales’ mother Shirley said prior to the final vote that she knew the impact it would have if it passed.
“It would be fantastic,” she said. “I know it would’ve meant the world to Lecretia.”
She doubted Lecretia would’ve exercised the choice to end her life if it were available, but “it would’ve given her a lot of comfort to know that she had the choice”.
A lawyer, Seales was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2011. She became an advocate of assisted dying and took a case to the High Court for the right to die. She died aged 42 in June 2015.
The bill’s proponent, David Seymour, quoted Seales as saying before her death “me, and those who love me, must have the right to determine when I have reached the end of the road. This right belongs to me and none other”.
There were emotional scenes ahead of the historic vote. About 200 anti-euthanasia protesters held last-minute rallies outside Parliament in a bid to sway MPs. The bill, which would let terminally ill adults legally request assisted dying, has been subject to fierce public debate, a drawn-out series of votes in Parliament and a record 39,000 public submissions.
It is the fourth attempt to legalise euthanasia in this country. The three previous bills have failed.
New Zealand’s MPs last night passed a bill legalising voluntary euthanasia in a historic vote, and turned the final decision on assisted dying over to the public.
The vote for Act leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill, 69 votes to 51, ended two years of fierce political arguments about the legislation and decades of attempts to get reforms through the House.
It will now go to a public referendum alongside next year’s general election for a final test.
The legislation gathered broader support earlier in its passage when it was amended to allow for a referendum.
Since the bill — which would let terminally ill adults request assisted dying — was introduced in 2017, Seymour has devoted the bulk of his time to seeing it through eight protracted parliamentary debates and a record 39,000 public submissions.
Speaking in the House, in front of a packed public gallery, Seymour yesterday implored his fellow MPs to give the bill backing one last time.
“I have listened to New Zealanders talk about their experiences from Kerikeri to Gore,” Seymour said.
“Overwhelmingly they have said to me: ‘I have seen bad death. If my time comes and I’m not doing well, I want choice. By the way, it’s nobody else’s business but my own’.”
The legislation had passed its second reading 70 votes to 50 and was widely expected to clear the final hurdle last night.
But neither side was taking votes for granted ahead of the third reading, with jostling going on to the wire.
Seymour had agreed to major changes to the bill since it was put in the ballot four years ago, in hopes of seeing it succeed.
Most significantly, the legislation now covers only those who have been diagnosed as having less than six months to live, whereas it previously included those with grievous and irremediable medical conditions.
Opponents were not appeased. National Party MP Chris Penk, who has been one of the most ardent critics throughout, last night told the House the bill was not safe enough to protect the most vulnerable.
“The question is not whether some people will die in the way the bill allows, but whether many people could die in a way that the bill does not allow,” Penk said, citing a lack of requirement for witnesses and a cooldown period in the legislation.
He echoed one of the most common criticisms of the bill: That it would see the ill and elderly pressured to take up assisted dying when they didn’t need to.
National MP Shane Reti, a doctor, described himself as the “only person in this House who will be commissioned to euthanise New Zealanders”.
“I cannot imagine the spectre of euthanasia, ever-present looming over every single consultation ... until it is dared to be given light,” the Whanga¯rei MP said.
Hutt South MP Chris Bishop, meanwhile, described the status quo as “fundamentally intolerable to a civilised and humane society”.
“I do not accept the argument that has been put by some; that painful death is just something we should blindly accept,” Bishop said.
Seymour, for his part, defended the bill as having enough safeguards against coercion — it requires doctors to stop the euthanasia process if they suspect pressure — and tried to ease concerns it would affect anyone but the dying.
He also paid tribute to Wellington lawyer Lecretia Seales, who inspired his initial efforts and revived public debate about euthanasia.
Seales died in 2015, a day after the High Court rejected her bid to be allowed to access assisted dying.
“Who else but me should have the authority to decide if and when the disease and its effects are so intolerable that I would prefer to die?” Seymour said, quoting Seales.
Her mother, Shirley Seales, was among those in the public gallery watching the vote.
The bill is the fourth to try to legalise assisted dying — starting with one in 1995 — and the only one to clear even a first reading.
The other significant change made to secure its passing was the addition of the requirement of a referendum.
It was a demand of NZ First — which threatened to vote against the legislation, likely shutting it down, if it didn’t get a public ballot — and was accepted grudgingly by MPs who were determined to see the bill pass.
New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin yesterday defended asking the public to decide.
“New Zealanders elect us. But they do not elect our consciences.”
Finance Minister Grant Robertson lamented that Parliament could not have made the decision itself.
Since it was introduced, the bill has been met with constant, vocal opposition. The vast bulk of submissions to its lengthy select committee process were against it, and yesterday a rally was held on Parliament’s lawn.
While campaigning on the referendum will next year likely be even more heated, historical polling so far has suggested it is likely to pass.
However, the referendum question will ask voters whether they support the End of Life Choice Bill becoming law, rather than assisted dying, and the effect that will have is still unclear.
A poll in July found there was 72 per cent backing for some kind of assisted dying for the terminally ill among the public. Support over the past 20 years has averaged to about 68 per cent.
New Zealanders elect us. But they do not elect our consciences. Tracey Martin, NZ First