Supplied Content
Auckland, March 31, 2019
Analysing Select Committee submissions on the End of Life Choice Bill is no match for 20 years of research on New Zealanders’ support for the choice of assisted dying, ACT Leader David Seymour has said.
Indian Newslink has just carried an analysis of the ‘Care Alliance,’ a Group of 12 organisations that are opposed to the Bill that is currently in Parliament.
About the Bill
Mr Seymour has sponsored the Bill in the House, seeking to give people with a terminal illness or a grievous and irremediable medical condition the option of requested or assisted dying. It is under process and is for due for submission to the Justice Minister on April 9, 2019.
According to Mr Seymour, reputable polling companies have time and time again found the vast majority of New Zealanders support assisted dying and welcome a change to our laws.
“A review of 20 years’ research into New Zealander’s attitudes to assisted dying by the University of Otago found that 68 per cent support change,” he said.
The Differences
He said that a Chart taken from the Young Study shows the vast difference between support running consistently at around 70%, opposition at 20%, and undecideds at around 10% in 17 polls taken since 2002.
“These polls were taken by reputable firms such as Colmar Brunton and Reid Research, which most recently found 75% and 71% support, respectively. The Care Alliance have done a lot of work, but appear to have misconceived the purpose of Select Committee submissions as a form of de facto referendum when the real purpose is to provide evidence to parliament to improve legislation,” he said.
Misconception alleged
Mr Seymour said it was a ‘misconception.’
“This misconception may explain why there are so many submissions opposed. Organisations such as the Catholic Church have written to their supporters imploring them to submit on the Bill. The Care Alliance are at pains to stress that the opposition to the bill was not, in the main, religiously motivated. However the church asked people not to use religious language in their submissions and its Bishops have defended the practice,” he said.
“The Mismatches’
“These mismatches between select committee submissions on an issue and public opinion are not new. The Committee considering the issue of civil unions found over 83% of submissions were opposed to a law change at a time when the majority of New Zealanders were in favour of liberalisation. MPs understood this and voted civil unions into law.
“It is a shame that the Select Committee process has been misused in this way, emphasising the quantity of submissions over their quality. After listening to submitters and analysing the information presented by hundreds of submissions against international evidence, I released a sponsor’s report of my findings and recommendations for improving the Bill,” he said.
This report recommends changes to the bill based on helpful feedback on the bill, and can be read here.
