Right to Life New Zealand

Upholding the sanctity of Human life and Standing Up for the Vulnerable

Does David Seymour Support Assisted Suicide for “Completed Life”?

by Leave a Comment

Media Release Monday 25th November 2019

Right to Life challenges David Seymour (pictured) who supports “choice” to tell our community whether he supports the current proposal of the Dutch government to provide assisted suicide to every person over the age of 75 years of age “who believes that they have completed their life”.

David Seymour is the leading advocate in New Zealand for the death lobby promoting choice for assisted suicide or to receive a lethal injection. Right to Life believes that his contentious anti-life End of Life Choice Bill is but the first step in implementing the ultimate hidden agenda for disposing of the lives of those not considered worthy of living.

Our community must now watch and pay attention as this agenda unfolds in Holland, because our lives and that of our children depend on it. The Dutch government recently announced its intention to introduce legislation next year to provide State funded assisted suicide for any person over the age of seventy-five who believe that their life is complete. It will not be necessary to have a terminal illness or to have even have ill health. The ultimate logical step is for the government to make it a duty to accept assisted suicide on reaching 75. This would be a considerable saving for the Dutch health services and social welfare.

Polling conducted by the Dutch government reveal that the proposal has the support of 55% of the population. Half those polled wanted no age limit, a third wanted a lower limit.

Holland has endured legislation allowing doctors to assist in the suicide of their patients or to give them a lethal injection since 2002. The populace has clearly been seduced by a culture of death. It commenced with accepting the killing of the terminally ill and quickly expanded to include those with depression, Alzheimer’s, dementia, the disabled and even children. Should New Zealand say yes to the referendum on the End of Life Choice Bill at the next election, there is no reason why New Zealand should not stumble blindly in the steps of Holland. If we do not learn from history, the destruction of human life will be the inevitable consequence.

Euthanasia is about doctors killing their patients or assisting in their suicide. It is intrinsically evil; no referendum can legitimise that which is evil. The prohibition against taking the life of another human being is the foundation of the law and medicine. It is always wrong to kill another innocent human being. The approval of the community, even in a referendum, can never make murder acceptable. A referendum is an attempt to seduce and to implicate the whole community in the murder of the vulnerable.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Parliament Betrays our Community; refuses to Govern for the Common Good

by Leave a Comment

Media Release 23rd October 2019

Parliament tonight has shamefully abdicated its responsibility to legislate to protect the vulnerable in society by voting 63 to 57 in favour of a referendum to decide the fate of the Seymour End of Life Choice Bill. When such important matters as life and death are at stake, Right to Life believes that Parliament must itself take responsibility for such decisions, rather than abdicating that responsibility.

The referendum will be conducted at the general election in 2020. Right to Life believes that if the bill passes its third reading in November, the media will continue to misinform the public We believe that they will lead a concerted campaign to persuade our community to support assisted suicide and euthanasia, by voting yes to the referendum.

Parliament has a duty to legislate for the protection of the most vulnerable members of our community the aged, the terminally ill and the disabled. Right to Life commends those Members who voted to defend life by voting to oppose a binding referendum. Right to Life asks if Members who voted for a referendum in Parliament are in Parliament at all. If they are reluctant to take responsibility to protect us, why are they there at all?

The motion for a referendum was moved by Jenny Marcroft of NZ First who declared that if Parliament did not support a referendum, NZ First would vote against the bill, at its third reading. The Hon Maggie Barry in her impassioned  address in Parliament stated that this bill was a “kill bill”, that it was poorly worded and that it was disguised killing under the guise of choice and compassion. The Hon Nick Smith in his moving address said that the bill was “unsound, unsafe and dangerous.”

It is also shameful that Parliament refused to support the amendment of the Hon Tim MacIndoe  to change the name of the  End of Life Choice Bill to the “Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Bill”. The name of the bill is intended to mislead and hide its purpose, which is to allow doctors to assist in the suicide of their patients or to kill them by giving them a lethal injection.

Right to Life earnestly requests Parliament promote a culture of life and oppose a culture of death by voting to defeat this dangerous anti-life EOLCB, on the 13th November.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Prime Minister Applauded for Opposing Euthanasia Referendum

by 1 Comment

Right to Life applauds the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern for her leadership in upholding the right of Parliament to make laws rather than abdicating that responsibility to the public in a referendum. The issues surrounding euthanasia and in particular the ill-conceived and life threatening End of Life Choice bill, (ELOCB), are still very poorly understood by a great many people.

The Prime Minister rightly disagrees with the Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, who is demanding that a binding referendum be held as a condition of continuing support from NZ First for this bill, which has the full support of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister was quoted in the NZ Herald as saying, “My view is that a referendum isn’t required to ensure that the voice of New Zealanders has been heard and to reflect the will of Parliament and the people they represent,” she said.

“I will be voting for the bill to continue as it stands.”

Right to Life urges Parliament to support the Prime Minister in opposing an amendment expected to be proposed by David Seymour, or Winston Peters to make the EOLCB subject to a binding referendum.

Euthanasia is about doctors killing their patients or assisting in their suicide, it is intrinsically evil, no referendum can legitimise that which is evil. The prohibition against taking the life of another human being is the foundation of the law and medicine. It is always wrong to kill another innocent human being. The approval of the community, even in a referendum, can never make murder acceptable. A referendum in this regard, is an attempt to seduce and implicate the whole community in the murder of the vulnerable. The most fundamental medical ethic of not killing or helping patients kill themselves must not be reduced to an opinion poll.

Right to Life is implacably opposed to a referendum because it is based on the false and dangerous premise that the community has a right to decide who shall be allowed to be killed. This presumption is a violation of the inalienable right to life of every member of the community.

A binding referendum that resulted in support for the Seymour bill would also impose an intolerable burden on the conscience of parliamentarians who are opposed to the murder of the vulnerable. It would be a serious dereliction of duty for Parliament to support a binding referendum. Parliament must not shamefully shirk its responsibility to protect the lives of the community by cowardly washing its hands and imposing that responsibility onto the community.

Right to Life earnestly requests that our parliamentarians vote to defeat any resolution seeking to impose a binding referendum that would implicate the whole community in the murder of vulnerable people.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Binding referendum on euthanasia tyranny, not democracy

by 2 Comments

Maryan Street, president of the End of Life Choice Society previously named the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of New Zealand Is promoting support for a binding referendum at the 2020 general election on the End of Life Choice bill [EOLCB] of David Seymour. This proposal is strongly opposed for the following reasons;

it would be a serious violation of Parliamentary democracy. It is the duty of the members of our Parliament to legislate for the protection of the lives of every member of our community, especially the most vulnerable and not to preside over our destruction. The right to life of every person from conception to natural death is protected in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states in Article 3,” Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” It further states that our rights are universal and inalienable, being inalienable they may not be taken from us nor may we give them up. Our human rights are not conferred on us by the state, by Parliament or by the community, they are conferred on us at conception by our Creator. It is therefore contended that Parliament should not be giving any consideration to a bill that would allow doctors to decide who shall be allowed to live and who may have their lives terminated. Parliament therefore would be acting in dereliction of its duty by abdicating its responsibility to protect our right to life by imposing its responsibility on to the citizens of New Zealand.

A referendum is an important part of our Parliamentary democracy, it is suitable for such issues as changing the nations flag but totally unsuitable for issues of life and death such as the Seymour bill which if passed would allow doctors to kill “terminally ill patients” or assist in their suicide. The EOLCB is currently with the Justice Select Committee which is considering more than 35,000 written submissions and has also heard more than1,800 oral submissions. A careful analysis of the submissions is being conducted by Care Alliance and while not complete, it reveals that more than ninety per cent of submissions are opposed to euthanasia.

The Parliamentary Select Committee has received many expert submissions from the medical profession here in New Zealand and from overseas. Many of these submissions warn of the great dangers that would threaten the most vulnerable members of our community, the aged, the disabled and the seriously ill. The Committee will be reporting back to Parliament in March on the Committee’s recommendations concerning the amendment of the bill or its rejection. The bill will then have its second reading and if passed, it’s third reading to be passed into law. In a Parliamentary democracy we need to trust our Parliament to be fully informed on the implications of this bill and to vote in the best interests of the community. It would be most unwise to subject this contentious bill to an ill informed electorate in a binding referendum. It would also be unjust and immoral to compel Members of Parliament to vote to pass this bill against their conscience at a third reading to comply with the result of a binding referendum.

This bill is but a stepping stone to normalise suicide and the acceptance of a lethal injection to terminate the lives of those considered not worthy of life. A right to die would soon become a duty to die as it is more costly to care for a patient than to kill a patient. It would later extend to include children and those with Alzheimer’s and Dementia We can live without euthanasia.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life


This is the website of Right to Life NZ Inc.
%d bloggers like this: