End of Life Choice Act 2019
The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that seeks to give people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted dying. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health confirmed that, "The Bill uses “assisted dying” to refer to both euthanasia and assisted suicide. Euthanasia refers to a patient being administered a lethal drug by a medical practitioner. Assisted suicide refers to a patient receiving lethal drugs at their request, which they take by themselves." ACT New Zealand MP David Seymour entered it into the  member's bill ballot on 14 October 2015. The bill passed its first reading on 13 December 2017, with 76 votes in favour, 44 opposed; its second reading on 26 June 2019, with 70 votes in favour, 50 opposed; and its third reading on 13 November 2019, with 69 votes in favour, 51 opposed. A binding referendum was held in conjunction with the 17 October 2020 general election on whether the Act should come into force, with a majority of voters voting in favour of the Act. The result of the referendum meant that the Act came into force on  7 November 2021, 12 months after the official result was declared. Contents of the bill. Eligibility for assisted dying. Anyone may request assisted dying, but a person may receive it only if an attending medical practitioner and an independent medical practitioner confirmed that the person meets all of the following eligibility criteria: Process of assisted dying. A person who wishes to have an assisted death must inform an attending medical practitioner. The medical practitioner must complete a prescribed form after talking to the patient about the prognosis of their illness; the irreversible nature of assisted dying and its impacts; and  alternative options for end-of-life care. The doctor needs to encourage the person to discuss their wish with others, but the doctor also needs to tell the person that they don't have to discuss it with anyone. The attending medical practitioner needs to "do their best to ensure that the person expresses their wish free from pressure from any other person". The doctor must do this by talking with other health practitioners who are in regular contact with the person and with family members approved by the person. If this doctor (or a nurse practitioner) suspects that a  person "is not expressing their wish free from pressure from any other person", the process must be stopped. The person must confirm their request by signing and dating a prescribed form in the presence of this practitioner. The second part of the form may be signed by someone else if the person cannot write for any reason. Once the form has been completed the attending medical practitioner, and following that an independent medical practitioner, must confirm whether the person meets the eligibility criteria. If one or both medical practitioners are unsure about the person's mental competency, a psychiatrist  must confirm whether the person is competent. specialist appointed by the SCENZ Group (Support and Consultation for End of Life in New Zealand Group). If eligible, the person can choose the date and method of administration of the lethal dose of medication. Once the medication has been administered the attending medical practitioner must complete a prescribed form notifying the registrar at the Ministry of Health that an assisted death has occurred. The registrar must then forward the form to a review committee. Legislative history. Justice Select Committee. Written submissions to the Justice Select Committee on the End of Life Choice  Bill were received until midnight on 6 March 2018. The committee reported on the Bill on 9 April 2019. Second Reading. 12 MPs changed positions between the first and second readings. From Labour, Allan, Russell, Rurawhe, Whaitiri and Wood changed from voting for to voting against, while Williams voted for having previously opposed the bill. From National, Guy, Hipango, Tolley and Walker changed from for to against, while Collins and Yule decided to reverse their opposition. Five National MPs had entered Parliament since the first reading but had no net effect on the result- Willis (for) replaced Joyce (against) which  was cancelled out by Bidois (against) replacing Coleman (for). Committee of the Whole House. The Committee of the Whole House started on 31 July 2019. An amendment by David Seymour that limited eligibility to only those with a terminal illness was agreed to. Other amendments put forward by opponents of the bill were rejected. The End of Life Choice Bill was debated again on 21 August 2019. Parliament voted to accept Seymour's second round of amendments by a vote of 69 to 51. Key amendments include prohibiting a health practitioner from initiating any discussion about assisted dying, giving employment  protections for any doctor, nurse, or psychiatrist who objects to taking part in the process on any ground, and a provision for doctors and nurses to stop the process if they suspect any pressure is being applied on the person seeking assisted dying. The amendments by MPs opposed to the bill including National MPs Maggie Barry, Paulo Garcia, Simeon Brown, and Chris Penk were defeated during the debate. Penk's proposal to have tighter provisions against coercion including getting a "sign-off" from a specialist panel was defeated by 71 to 49 votes. MPs also voted 70 to 50 in  favour of the End of Life Choice Bill being given a third and final reading later. Proposed referendum. On 23 October 2019, the New Zealand Parliament voted by a margin of 63 to 57 to amend the End of Life Choice Bill to include a binding referendum on whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019 should come into force. New Zealand First Member of Parliament Jenny Marcroft proposed an amendment to include a referendum on the grounds that euthanasia "directly affected the fabric of society" and that "temporarily empowered politicians... alone should not decide on the bill." In response , Labour Member of Parliament Louisa Wall criticised NZ First for placing MPs who supported the bill but opposed the referendum in an "untenable position." She also accused NZ First of using the proposed referendum as a bargaining chip for securing the party's support for the third reading of the End of Life Choice Bill scheduled for November 2019. Third Reading. On 13 November 2019, the End of Life Choice bill passed its third reading 69 votes in favour and 51 votes opposed. The Bill is being prepared for royal assent. In return for New Zealand First's support of  the bill through its third reading, the Bill will be decided by the public in a binding referendum at the 2020 New Zealand general election. The End of Life Choice Bill was also amended to only allow a person with "a terminal illness that is likely to end the person's life within six months" to request euthanasia. While Seymour disagreed with the legislation, he supported the amendment in order to maintain the support of the Green Party and several other MPs for a third reading. 2020 Euthanasia referendum. A binding referendum on euthanasia was held alongside the 2020 New  Zealand general election and the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum on 17 October 2020. Preliminary results for the two referendums were released by the Electoral Commission on 30 October. These preliminary results found 65.2% of people in support of the End of Life Choice Act with 33.8% opposed. Following the counting of the 480,000 special votes, official results for the general election and referendums were released on 6 November. Based on the final results, 65.1% of people supported the legislation while 33.7% opposed it.