Media Release 7 November 2021
The 7th November is a day that will go down in our nation’s history as a day of shame, the day when our Parliament defied the fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” and rejected the authority and supremacy of God the Creator and author of life. Parliament has now appointed itself as the supreme authority with the right to decide who shall live and who shall die.
We all desire a dignified death, however there is no dignity in being killed by your doctor under the pretext that this is health care.
Right to Life is committed to the repeal of the End of Life Choice Act 2019. We will oppose its implementation and expose the threat that it imposes on patients, families and medical practitioners. We will not rest until this evil legislation is repealed.
Parliament rejected its responsibility to uphold the sanctity of life of every human being from conception to natural death. It has also violated the ethics of the medical profession by demanding that medical professionals participate in the killing of their patients or assisting in their suicide.
The government fully supports this appalling legislation as they are aware that it is more economic to kill than to provide care for patients. The funding of the killing of patients is a health priority for the Public Health system. Privately employed doctors and nurse practitioners will be able to claim a generous government funded fee for each patient killed.
Right to Life asks the Minister of Health, Andrew Little, why is the government paying a generous fee to doctors to kill patients but provides no fees to doctors who offer life-saving palliative care?
An attending medical or nurse practitioner can claim $1087.20 for killing their patient by euthanasia, or assisting them in their suicide.
In addition to the above fee, attending medical practitioners can claim $724.80 for responding to a patient’s request, completing the paperwork, giving the first opinion, and referring for a second opinion, or for a psychiatrist’s report. If these requirements take more than three hours, the fee can escalate to $1208.A further $362.40 may be claimed by the attending medical practitioner when they deliver the news as to the person’s eligibility and put in place the next steps such as support services, paperwork, and if eligible, arranging the time and date of death. The independent medical practitioner who gives a second opinion can claim $604.00.
Psychiatrists who determine the competency of the person requesting euthanasia or assisted suicide, and who advises the medical practitioners if the person is eligible may claim $1544.16.
Further, if the medical or nurse practitioner or a psychiatrist needs to travel to the patient, they may claim expenses, and charge an hourly rate for the time. The hourly rate is $120.80 for medical and nurse practitioners and $193.02 for psychiatrists. Altogether, an attending medical practitioner who is part of the process from start to finish, may claim more than $2,000.00 in fees. If the initial consultations and paperwork take longer than 3 hours to complete, this fee could escalate to more than $3,000.00.
Funding is not available to doctors who participate in the killing of patients as an employee of a District Health Board. The Minister is anxious that the killing of patients be done discreetly, not in a hospital but in the patient’s own home or retirement home.
The End of Life Choice Act is but the first step in the killing of the vulnerable.
Following overseas experience, we may expect the law to be expanded to include the non-terminally ill, those with advance directives, the disabled, the mentally ill, those with Alzheimers and dementia and possibly to children. The right to die may become a duty to die.
Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life N.Z. Inc.
What happens to people who have killed themselves or others after death? I hate to think!
Yes, agreeing to be euthanaized is suicide Rachel.