ACT MP Todd Stephenson has lodged a member’s bill in Parliament’s ballot to extend eligibility for End of Life Choice services.
The End of Life Choice (Extended Eligibility) Amendment Bill removes the requirement for a terminally ill person to demonstrate a six-month prognosis, while retaining all other safeguards. …
This means the criteria would then be:
- is aged 18 years or over
- is in an advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability
- experiences unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable
- is competent to make an informed decision about assisted dying.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
3 comments:
Interested in this topic, as I know someone in Oz who intends to use the euthanasia provision that was enabled last November in NSW and is very similar to NZ's. She has cancer, but does not know yet how long she's got; currently however, it seems to be more than six months. I imagine this kind of judgment call as to timing is difficult to make for medical professionals, and that the change proposed here would make the situation more straightforward - although in my friend's case, I doubt NSW legislation will change so soon after its introduction.
I would like to see the second of the above criteria removed as well. Why wait until someone is "in an advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability"? Many of us would like to bow out with dignity before we reach an 'advanced' state of decrepitude.
Quite right Barend.
The second criteria applies to all of us at a certain age, irrespective of ones current state of health.
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