Simon O’Connor
Family First
Last week I found myself up at 4am to speak to the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. As you may know, they are considering yet another euthanasia/assisted suicide bill and the lords are currently holding committee hearings and wanted to know of the New Zealand experience.
There were four of us in total, two supporting life and palliative care and two that either support or lean in support of euthanasia. I was there alongside Professor Sinéad Donnelly, a professor and palliative medicine physician. Naturally, I’m with Family First, but I was also there having chaired the health committee in parliament when it then undertook the largest ever inquiry: that into euthanasia.
I will admit, it was both a very early and long morning. The way the House of Lords operates means that just about every vote requires the lords to be there in person, so bells would ring during the hearing and they would have to leave!
My message to the lords was simple – euthanasia laws inevitably expand. There was a sense from some of the lords (those in support of euthanasia) that their UK law would be exceptional, that, unlike other countries, their proposed law would be complete and never need to be changed.
I simply pointed out that every jurisdiction that introduces euthanasia laws sees expansion. I pointed out that we are only three years in here in New Zealand, and already, there is a big push to expand the law. To remove conscience rights from doctors, nurses, and hospices; to let doctors promote euthanasia to patients; for the Ministry of Health to advertise euthanasia; and to remove the likely six months to live requirement.
The key dynamic in play, that I attempted to succinctly explain to the lords, was the euthanasia moves swiftly from being a health issue to a justice issue. Debate begins around terrible medical conditions (think neurological disorders such as Huntington’s disease) but swiftly moves to one about rights, not discriminating, and equal access.
I was also at pains to point out the contradictory statements being made by the New Zealand pro-euthanasia witnesses. On one hand, they were saying New Zealand’s law has important safeguards, yet the very next minute they were saying that safeguards are an obstruction and prohibition that should be removed. Quite extraordinary!
A particularly memorable moment, which elicited loud gasps from the lords present, was when one of the pro-euthanasia researchers here in New Zealand stated:
The concerns about palliative care being undermined are more about the palliative care professionals who cannot sit with their own discomfort about assisted dying.
You can appreciate why there were gasps to this dismissive and dangerous statement. What was being strongly stated is that any moral or ethical concerns around terminating people should be put aside – that palliative care practitioners with concerns should be dismissed. This New Zealand researcher also appears blind to why people might experience such discomfort, and doubly so when it’s those in palliative care who spend their lives trying to help the dying live well to the very end.
Let’s hope that the lords see the value of life and vote no to this proposed law.
This article was originally published by Family First New Zealand.
