Right to Life New Zealand

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

Right to Life Encourages Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners to Reject Euthanasia

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27 February 2014

Group Manager Strategy and Standards,

Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners,

Dear Ms McKeogh,

Maryan Street’s End of Life Choices Bill

Thank you for your reply of 30 October 2014. Thank you for clarifying your College’s position on euthanasia and for giving consideration to our request that your members write to the Hon David Cunliffe concerning  Maryan Street’s Bill.

We are encouraged to write to you again following the decision made by the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom, reaffirming the College’s opposition to euthanasia i.e. doctors being permitted to kill their patients or assisting in their suicide. Dr Clare Gerada, Chairperson of the Royal College stated that this was the widest consultation ever taken by the College; there were 1,700 responses from doctors with 77 per cent being opposed to any change to their position which is to oppose euthanasia.

Right to Life wishes to request that your College give serious consideration to following the example of the Royal College by adopting a strong stance against euthanasia. It is imperative for the future of the medical profession that it upholds and protects the ethics of the profession founded on respect for the sanctity of life of every human person from conception to natural death.

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Euthanasia bill Withdrawn from Ballot

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Media Release Friday 27th September

Maryan Street, in an unprecedented step, has withdrawn her “End of Life Choices Bill” from the ballot. The Member claims that she was concerned that if it was drawn from the ballot in an election year it would be an election year football. Right to Life now requests that for the good of the nation and the Labour Party, she finally discards this bill and makes a commitment to the community to refrain from placing this contentious bill back in the ballot. This bill has no place in our Parliament. The first duty of government is to protect the lives of all in the community, especially the most vulnerable and not to preside over their destruction. We cannot but point out a consequence of Labour’s assumed support for this destructive bill is that many will question whether the Labour Party is a responsible and suitable political party to govern our nation. Right to Life is committed to making this controversial bill an election issue.

This is a bill to legalise murder that would if enacted into law, give doctors the right to kill their patients or assist in their suicide. There is no dignity in being murdered by your doctor. Ms Street claims unconvincingly that she is not being pressured by her caucus to withdraw this highly controversial bill. Right to Life wrote to all the Labour MPs on 24 July lobbying them use their influence to have this destructive and controversial bill removed from the ballot as it would be a major distraction if drawn in an election year.Right to Life believes that this lobbying has been successful.

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Right to Life Challenges Maryan Street on her Euthanasia Bill

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17 August 2013

Ms Maryan Street MP,

Parliament Building,

Wellington.

Dear Ms Street,

Thank you for your letter of 1 August 2013. I believe that the fundamental issue of your ‘End of Life Choice Bill’, is the role of Parliament in respect to the medical ethics of the medical profession.  It is important for the practice of medicine that the profession has an accepted code of medical ethics that firstly protects the health and lives of members of the community, especially that of the elderly and disabled. Secondly medical ethics are essential for protecting the members of the profession who are dedicated to caring and not killing. 

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Labour’s Euthanasia Bill – A Very Real Threat to the Elderly

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Right to Life New Zealand Media Release 9.25 pm Sunday 21st July 2013

The Labour caucus has a Private Members Bill in the ballet titled “End of Life Choice Bill” in the name of Maryan Street. If passed it would allow doctors to kill their patients or assist in their suicide. This bill was placed in the ballet box in July 2012. The bill hangs over the nation’s head like the Sword of Damocles, just  waiting to fall. The bill if passed would  undermine the common good, pose a serious threat to the lives of the elderly the disabled and the seriously ill. Such a Bill would totally alter the respect and trust that patients have with their doctors and impose an unwanted watershed change in our healthcare system. 

The nation is preparing for a general election in 2014. It is important in an election year that the electorate focuses on the important issues such as housing, education, welfare and the cost of living. If this bill were drawn from the ballot before the election, it would prove a major unwanted distraction for the electorate.

It is important in our Parliamentary democracy that the Labour Party presents itself to the electorate as a viable party fit to govern. There are many in our community who are deeply concerned at the social engineering imposed on our community by previous Labour governments. These concerned citizens would be reluctant to vote for a political party that supports doctors being given the right to kill their patients.

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Street’s Euthanasia Bill a Grave Threat to the Community

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The following post is by Mike Sullivan at  Saving Downs.

New Zealand Labour Party MP Maryan Street has a private members bill for euthanasia sitting in the ballot box in Parliament. If this bill is drawn and subsequently made law, it paves the way for the un-consented killing of people with Down syndrome in New Zealand. Such a situation is entirely unacceptable and will be opposed in the strongest terms.

If this concept sounds farfetched, just look at the draft bill.

Clause 6 of the bill outlines the provisions for medical assistance for dying (that’s euthanasia):

6. Option to receive medical assistance to end life

(1) A qualifying person may receive medical assistance to end his or her life if he or she—

(a) is mentally competent; and

(b) suffers from either of the following conditions:

(i) a terminal disease or other medical condition that is likely to end his or her life within 12 months:

(ii) an irreversible physical or mental medical condition that, in the person’s view, renders his or her life unbearable.

So, in terms of our community the area of concern relates to the wording in 6(1)(b)(ii) – “an irreversible physical or mental medical condition that, in the person’s view, renders his or her life unbearable.”

No problem there then? – We all know that Down syndrome is an irreversible physical or mental medical condition, but they have pretty good lives so they wouldn’t meet the threshold of having a “life unbearable”. And anyway, you might say, to qualify for medically assisted dying you have to be mentally competent, so there is no risk of abuse of those accidently consenting to euthanasia. But, as we will see, those decisions don’t necessarily lie with the person concerned.

Think this through very carefully.

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Six lessons from death in Belgium

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Here are  six lessons and they apply every bit as much to New Zealand as Belgium

Lesson one: the expanding circle (Take note Maryan Street)

Lesson two: euthanasia-minded doctors prefer easy deaths to complicated social work

Lesson three: safeguards are meant to be hurdled  (Again Take note Maryan Street)

Lesson four: if you’re disabled, you’re in trouble. (Are you listening Maryan?)

Lesson five: compassionate euthanasia has a price tag

Lesson six: not enough Belgians are being euthanased but the government has a plan.

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