Media Release 9 April 2023
The Registrar of Assisted Dying, Dr Kristin Good, has released the statistics for euthanasia for the fourth quarter of 2022. The report reveals that there were 102 patients killed with a lethal injection or assisted in their suicide in the last 3 months of 2022.
Right to Life is committed to campaigning for the repeal of this legislation which is a violation of the fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” And violates the foundation principle of medicine, “Thou shalt do no harm.”
Right to Life fears that the right to die is becoming increasingly a duty to die as it is cheaper to kill patients than it is to care for them.
Assisted deaths by location
Between 1 October 2022 and 31 December 2022, 102 people had an assisted death. Assisted deaths can take place at the person’s home or in the community. The summary by location is:
86 (or 84.3%) at the person’s home or another private residence
9 (or 8.8%) in a public hospital
4 (or 3.9%) in an aged care facility
3 (or 2.9%) in a hospice facility
Right to Life is concerned at the increasing numbers of patients killed in public hospitals, aged care facilities and in hospice facilities.
Right to Life is encouraging the government to ban patients being killed in these facilities which should be totally dedicated to protecting life. Right to Life is continuing its campaign to encourage retirement villages to adopt a policy of being euthanasia free.
A total of 316 vulnerable patients were killed in New Zealand, authorised and funded by the Labour government under the controversial End of Life Choice Act. Andrew Little, then Health Minister, stated in 2021 that New Zealand was now ready for “assisted dying”. The Ministry of Health’s website proclaims, “Assisted dying is a new health service in New Zealand.”
Killing patients with a lethal injection is not health care, it is the ultimate abandonment of the patient who deserves compassion and life affirming health care. The government generously rewards doctors with fees estimated at $3,000, who are prepared to terminate the lives of their patients, under the End of Life Choice Act.
The latest alarming statistics reveal a disturbing increase in patients being killed by their doctor and indicate that the current annual rate for government sponsored killing of vulnerable patients in New Zealand is estimated at in excess of 400 deaths. If we had the same rate as the Netherlands of 5.1 %, it would exceed 1,500 deaths.
Overseas experience indicates that the numbers of patients killed by their doctor increase each year as the grounds for killing expand. In Netherlands, the number of patients killed by their doctor increased in 2021 by 14% to 10,870. This is 5.1% of all deaths in that country in 2021. Research in Netherlands indicates that 20 to 23% of all euthanasia cases are not reported, as many of them would be unlawful under Dutch law.
There were 10,029 medically induced deaths in Canada in 2021, an increase of 34.7% from the 7,446 deaths in 2020. MAID (Medical Aid In Dying) accounted for 3.3% of all deaths in Canada in 2021, up from 2.4% of all reported deaths in the previous year. Research reveals that 1,740 patients were killed under MAID in 2021, whose wishes to die were motivated by loneliness and isolation.
Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to life New Zealand Inc