Right to Life New Zealand

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

Government imposes veil of silence over killing of vulnerable people

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Media Release 8 September 2022

Right to Life believes that it is an appalling scandal that it is necessary to have cake stalls and raffles to fund hospices providing an essential health service.

 Right to Life believes that the government of Jacinda Ardern wishes to promote assisted suicide or a lethal injection as the preferred option for the terminally ill.

It achieves this objective by making the killing of patients a core health service and fully funded. On the other hand Hospices that provide palliative care are in a financial crisis. Palliative care is not a core health service, nor is it fully funded.

The government provides $88 million per year and it is scandalous that a further $87 million is raised with opportunity shops, cake stalls, raffles and donations. The government is aware that it is cheaper to provide a lethal injection to a patient or assist in their suicide than provide expensive palliative care. 

Right to Life is disappointed in the response of the Ministry of Health to an Official Information Act request of 26th July.

Right to Life believes that the community have a right to know why vulnerable patients who were given a lethal injection or assisted in suicide chose not to receive or did not have access to palliative care.

The first annual report of the Registrar of Assisted Dying, Dr Kristin Good revealed that 80% of patients who were killed by their doctor were receiving palliative care.

In our Official Information Act request Right to Life asked:-

There were 20% of patients who did not have palliative care. How many patients did not request this care?

How many patients wanted palliative care, however it was not available?

With respect to the 80% of patients who were receiving palliative care at the time of their application for “Assisted dying” what was their reason for discontinuing with palliative care?

The Ministry advised that they do not collect this information. Right to Life believes that the requested information could easily be requested. It is critically important to confirm that palliative care is not available to some New Zealanders because they live in rural areas.

Right to Life believes that the government is not concerned that palliative care may not be available because of lack of funding or because of where the patient lives.

Right to Life believes that palliative care should be available for every New Zealander when they need it and has written to the Minister of Health requesting that hospices providing palliative care be fully funded and that these vital statistics be collected.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life NZ Inc.

It is cheaper to kill patients than to care for them

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Media Release 10 July 2022

The government is aware that fully funding palliative care is expensive. Is the government wishing, by underfunding palliative care, to encourage vulnerable patients who cannot access palliative care to choose a lethal injection or assistance in suicide?

 The Minister of Health, Andrew Little is generously providing $100 million in this year’s budget for mental health over the next four years, but no additional funding for palliative care.

There are 32 hospices in New Zealand providing world class palliative care. In 2021 it is estimated that it cost $178 million to provide this care. The government provides $88 million and hospices are left to raise the balance from their op shops, raffles, cake stalls and charity events.

Right to Life asks the Minister why the government fully funds as a core health service its “assisted dying” service that allows a doctor to kill their patient with a lethal injection or assist in their suicide, while hospices are only partially funded. Doctors who are prepared to provide this “assisted dying service” are generously rewarded by the State with up to $3,000, for every patient removed from the health service, plus travelling allowances to access patients living in remote areas.

The government is committed to promoting “assisted dying” and has established a special unit of seven full time staff in the Ministry of Health to oversee and promote access to this new service. Its name is the Quality Assurance & Safety Health Systems Improvement & Innovation team. The Ministry has no dedicated unit to promote hospices or palliative care.

The government should give a firm commitment to promote a culture of life by increasing funding to  hospices to allow care to be given to those who reside in remote areas. Hospices provide quality compassionate palliative care for our most vulnerable members when they are suffering a terminal illness or from dementia and other serious illnesses. This is care that recognises the dignity and the inalienable right to life of every human being. It is also affirming the role of the medical profession as carers and not killers.

We should promote a culture of life by fiercely protecting our palliative care and hospice movement We must reject a culture of death by strongly opposing “assisted dying”.

Hospices make a huge difference to people’s lives by ensuring terminally ill people are as free from pain and suffering as possible. They also provide care and support for families and friends. In 2020 10,374 people with a terminal illness received care and support in dying from hospice services throughout New Zealand and hospice staff made over 145,000 visits to people in their homes.

Right to Life believes that we should be very grateful to the doctors and nurses who staff our world class Hospices for the care and compassion they administer to our most vulnerable citizens. We can live without euthanasia.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life NZ Inc.

Hospices are to be for caring not killing

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Media Release 16 June 2021

Right to Life is pleased that the Minister of Health, Hon Andrew Little has advised our society that he has no policy to require that hospices have to accept patients being killed by their doctors or assisted in their suicide in order to continue receiving government funding. This information was provided by the Minister under the Official Information Act. The End of Life Choice Act will allow for the killing by doctors of their patients with a lethal injection or assistance in suicide from 7th November 2021. This is government supported and funded “health care.”

The Minister is to be commended for upholding the integrity of our hospices that are committed to upholding the Hippocratic Oath, not to give a lethal poison to a patient, or to assist in their suicide.

The High Court in Wellington in 2020 in the judicial review: Hospice NZ V Attorney General found in the judgment of Justice Mallon:-

•         Organisations such as hospices have a right to hold conscientious objection to euthanasia and PAS – and the Crown should not be able to override this right through funding decisions.

•         The mandatory provisions in the EOLC Act do not override the Code of Health and Disability Consumer’s rights.

In committing to providing quality compassionate palliative care for the most vulnerable members of society when they are suffering a terminal illness, they are providing care that recognises the dignity and the inalienable right to life of every human being, made in the image and likeness of God.

It is also affirming the role of the medical profession as carers and not killers. We don’t need to kill the patient to kill the pain.

This assurance from the Health Minister will be welcomed by our dedicated health professionals who are committed to caring for their patients and not killing them, under the pretext that this is health care. This assurance will also be a great source of comfort to family who place their loved-ones into hospices for palliative care.

The government currently provides funding of $155 million per annum to the 33 hospices in New Zealand This is only 1/3 of the funding required, the other two thirds are required to be raised by the community. Why is the government providing 100 % funding to kill patients (under the End of Life Choice Act) and yet only 33% of the funding to provide palliative care?

We must promote a culture of life by fiercely protecting our palliative care and Hospice movement, rejecting a culture of death by strongly opposing those who will be seeking to infiltrate our Hospices with the killing of patients by a lethal injection, or assisting in their suicide, under the guise that this is compassionate health care.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

Defunding threat hangs over hospices that refuse to allow Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide

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Media Release Sunday 20th September 2020

Right to Life believes that the Labour led government supports defunding hospices that refuse to allow doctors to give a lethal injection to their patients, or assist in their suicide. Funding of New Zealand hospices is an important election issue and the public has a right to know the government’s policy.

Right to Life is concerned that The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, refused to advise our Society of government policy concerning the future government funding of hospices. In our letter dated 30th June, we asked:-

In the event of the euthanasia referendum receiving majority support, would you if re-elected give an assurance that your government would not withdraw funding for palliative care to hospices if they refuse to allow euthanasia in their hospice?

The Prime Minister, as is her custom referred our letter to the Minister of Health. the Hon Chris Hipkins. The Minister also refused to answer our question and stated, “The Act does not replace palliative care or health care services more generally. There is no government position for or against the Act. “

The Prime Minister claims that we have the most accountable and transparent government we have ever seen. Why then does she refuse to disclose to our nation this life threatening policy.  

Right to Life questions this claim of neutrality, the End of Life Choice Act was a private members bill, however it had overwhelming government support.

Right to Life has every justification to believe that it is government policy to withdraw government funding from hospices that refuse to allow euthanasia and the killing of patients within hospices.

Right to Life believes that the intention of the Government to compel hospices to accept that doctors could kill patients with a lethal dose or assist them to commit suicide was clearly indicated in the defeat of the Supplementary Order Paper 295 moved by the Hon Michael Woodhouse. This SOP sought to amend the End of Life Choice Bill by upholding the right of hospices to “conscientiously object to including euthanasia”. It was defeated by 68 to 52. This important amendment was opposed by the Prime Minister and 33 Labour MPs,  nine NZ First MPs, eight Green MPs and 15 National MPs, Jami-Lee Ross and Act’s David Seymour.

Hospice NZ had sought an urgent hearing in May in the High Court in Wellington to ask three questions. One was whether New Zealand’s proposed euthanasia law, the subject of a referendum, would have the effect of defeating the conscience right of hospices to protect their patients by prohibiting the killing of patients under the End of Life Choice Bill.

Justice Mallon in his judgement supported the right of hospices to prohibit euthanasia, however there was nothing to prevent the government authority from withholding health-care funding if a hospice refused to allow euthanasia.

The Attorney General submitted to the court [131] that if a DHB determined the most efficient way to fund assisted dying services in its area was to fund a provider who is willing to provide both palliative care and assisted dying services, it must be entitled to do so. Such a decision would not be to discriminate against those holding a conscientious objection. Rather, it would be one of effective allocation of funding to service providers in accordance with the statutory requirement on a DHB that it “seek the optimum arrangement for the most effective and efficient delivery of health services in order to meet local, regional and national needs”.

Euthanasia is not health care, it is about terminating the life of a vulnerable patient. It is diametrically opposed to the objective of palliative care, to neither hasten nor postpone death.There are 33 hospices in New Zealand providing palliative care for those seriously ill or in a terminal condition. Government funding accounts for 60 percent of the funding required to maintain hospices.

Right to Life’s requests that citizens vote no to the euthanasia referendum to protect the vulnerable in our community and to protect our hospices who are providing world class palliative care.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

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This is the website of Right to Life NZ Inc.
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