PRESS RELEASE

A Press Release from Euthanasia-Free NZ

Friday 14 November 2014

Euthanasia-Free NZ oppose any move to legalise euthanasia or assisted suicide in New Zealand, because such laws will pose significant dangers. By “euthanasia” we are referring to the intentional killing of a person, usually by administering a lethal drug.

Nowhere in the world has legal assisted suicide and euthanasia been contained and regulated effectively. Safeguards have been ignored and flouted. For example, a primary requirement by the Belgian law is a voluntary written request. Nevertheless, according to a 2010 study, 32% of reported euthanasia cases in Flanders, Belgium, occurred without any explicit request.

Assisted suicide is not “an individual choice”. By definition, at least one other person is required to execute it. No legal safeguards can prevent abuse, pressure, manipulation or coercion being exerted by this second person or by others who have a vested interest in someone’s earlier death. “Assisted dying” would inevitably become a vehicle for elder abuse and discrimination against those with disabilities.

“I care deeply about people’s suffering - based on my personal experience watching loved ones deteriorate - but legalising assisted suicide or euthanasia is simply too dangerous,” says Renée Joubert, executive officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ. “It would make criminal law arbitrary and create more problems than it would attempt to solve.”

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