January 22, 2017
Most Kiwis support euthanasia for those with painful, incurable diseases
Just 12 per cent of Kiwis are completely opposed to the legalisation of assisted dying, according to a University of Auckland study.
In a survey of 15,822 people, 66 per cent supported euthanasia as a legal means of ending the lives of people with painful, incurable diseases.
“There is strong public support for euthanasia when people are asked whether doctors should be allowed by law to end the life of a patient with a painful incurable disease upon their request,” concluded the authors, led by post-graduate psychology student Carol Lee.
Philip Nitschke at MBA Hearing December 2014
People who were religious, on lower incomes, parents, and those of Pacific or Asian ethnicity tended to be less supportive.
Euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke, Australian director of Exit International, said religion always seemed to be a key driver behind opposition to to law changes.
“Those who hold these views – viz the sanctity of all life, the equating of suicide to killing etc – are unlikely to ever change their position on the euthanasia question,” he said by email from the Netherlands.
Ken Orr, spokesman for anti-euthansia group Right to Life, said: “It is not necessary to kill the patient to kill the pain.
“The survey reveals what we all believe, that no-one should suffer pain needlessly.
“Euthanasia is promoted as a compassionate response to suffering. The reality is that it allows for the disposal of those considered unworthy of life.”
Bob McCoskrie, spokesman for Family First, rejected the survey’s findings, labelling it a “weak, incomplete survey, drawing dubious conclusions, by its own admission”.
“It appears to be set on finding the answer it wants, despite its own admission of significant limitations.”
The support was measured by asking whether doctors should be allowed by law to end a life if the patient has a painful and incurable disease.
Yet improvement in palliative care and pain-management in Western countries meant most patients should die without physical pain, the authors said.
“This raises the possibility that our findings do not represent people’s support for the concept of euthanasia per se, but instead, support for assisted death in the face of severe physical pain.”
ACT leader David Seymour has an End-of-Life Choice Bill awaiting selection in the parliamentary ballot, which would allow for assisted dying in cases of people who are terminally ill but still mentally sound.
The Government’s position on euthanasia is that any vote should be a conscience issue.
Prime Minister Bill English is known to be opposed to euthanasia. A spokesman for English said on Thursday: “The prime minister does not personally support euthanasia, but would not stand in the way of members voting according to their conscience, should a member’s bill on the matter be drawn.
“A select committee is also currently considering a petition on the matter and is due to report back [this year].”
BY THE NUMBERS:
Support: 66 per cent
Neutral or unsure: 21.7 per cent
Strongly oppose: 12.3 per cent
Total response: 15,822