Acts can be subverted

Ann David (Letters, Jan 24) is naive in supposing that the medical profession would stay within legislation on euthanasia.

A few years after the enactment of new legislation on abortion, the Abortion Supervisory Committee was telling Parliament that it believed doctors were using the mental health grounds as a cover for providing abortion on request, that such abortions were ‘‘pseudolegal’’.

However, it was not empowered to review individual decisions of Abortion Certifying Consultants.

Doctors opposed to euthanasia (a large majority of the profession, according to Ann David) remember how colleagues subverted the intention of Parliament, allowing abortion numbers to rapidly escalate.

Ann David’s faith in doctors is beautiful but sadly misplaced. A Euthanasia Supervisory Committee would need to be empowered to review individual decisions of authorising doctors.

John McArthur, Lower Hutt