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Dr Sinead Donnelly outlines how 1500 New Zealand doctors have signed a letter against the introduction of euthanasia, joining more than 9 million physicians worldwide from 114 countries who believe that “there is no place for a doctor to intentionally end the life of another person”.
New Zealand’s euthanasia bill is a step into the unknown for disabled people: ”Society is full of negative, biased and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, so that people think disabled lives are less worthy.”
Expert letter highlights risk of assisted dying increasing suicides
Mental Health experts and researchers have written an open letter to MPs highlighting the risk of assisted dying increasing suicides.
In the press release, spokesperson Dion Howard “says he has first-hand experience of his young clients using the same justifications for their suicidal inclinations as euthanasia advocates.”
“We feel a professional responsibility to present overseas statistical evidence regarding the relationship between assisted dying and suicide rates, the evidence is not conclusive because no-one has yet done the research and it is complex, but there is suggestive evidence which indicates that, over time, as the rates of assisted dying increase, there is a corresponding increase in suicide rates.”
“It’s a critical issue here in New Zealand because we have some of the highest suicide rates in the world, particularly for Māori, and they are still rising.”
The group want MPs to wait until more research is done before considering a law change.
“It is too risky to legislate for euthanasia or assisted suicide in New Zealand until evidence can show there’s no causal effect on New Zealand’s already high suicide levels.”
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20 New Zealanders share their views on care, community and the End of Life Choice Bill.
#committedtocare
Doctors’ Open Letter Gets 1,500th Signature
The ‘Doctors Say No’ Open Letter opposing euthanasia has received its 1,500th signature.
The Open Letter states that ‘Doctors want no part in assisted suicide’, noting the World Medical Association and the New Zealand Medical Association positions that “physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are unethical, even if they were made legal.”
Dr Donnelly says that David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill “only includes doctors to provide a cloak of medical legitimacy. Killing is not caring. It does not require any medical skills, it just requires the abandonment of medical ethics.”
She has a simple message to Members of Parliament as they approach the Bill’s Second Reading in May: “If you are really determined to legalise euthanasia, find another profession to do it. Please leave doctors out of it so that we can focus on caring for our patients.”
View the ‘Doctors Say No’ Open Letter here.
Over 90% of Record Number of Submissions Oppose End of Life Choice Bill
A full analysis of all 38,707 submissions to the Justice Select Committee showed that 90.2 percent opposed the End of Life Choice Bill. This was a record number of submissions made for any bill before the House. They painted a heart-felt and deeply human picture of the views held by many New Zealanders who considered the implications of legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide, and had sufficient strength of feeling to write in and make their views known.
The Care Alliance believes that these submissions provide a mountain of evidence showing that legalising euthanasia is unnecessary, unwise and dangerous.
Talking About Dying
“We want to support New Zealanders to have more conversations about death in the hope they might worry about it less.”
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Social Media Updates
“A humane society treats those more vulnerable with greater care rather than using their illness to justify their violent and unnatural end.” – Jacqueline Abernathy on the connection between lethal injection and assisted suicide. https://t.co/3FLYihKTuG
— CareAllianceNZ (@CareAllianceNZ) May 21, 2019
The culture of #Pasifika People is to care for each other unconditionally, especially elders, sick and dying. The #EndofLifeChoiceBill (to legalise euthanasia) will undermine these values. Join us at tonight’s community meeting to get informed about the bill. All welcome. pic.twitter.com/GwyUClPdBF
— CareAllianceNZ (@CareAllianceNZ) May 15, 2019