New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission has given the “orange light” to assisted suicide. However, it say the government should proceed with caution and only if strict safeguards are in place. The Commission recommends an opt out clause for medical staff and pharmacists who do not want to take part in the process should assisted suicide Read more
Voluntary euthanasia would be fraught with problems and New Zealand doesn’t need it, doctors have told a select committee. The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMAA) made the comments at the second day of the Health Select Committee’s hearings. The association said it backed patient autonomy, but sizeable complexities were involved in determining whether patients had Read more
Sir Geoffrey, a former prime minister and well respected lawyer has suggested family court judges rather than doctors should make any final decision when it come to ending a person’s life. However, ACT Party leader David Seymour said there was no need for its inclusion in his bill to legalise assisted suicide. The bill is Read more
The insinuation that the views of people with a faith perspective don’t count or count less is nothing more than an example of bigotry says the Director of The Nathaniel Bioethics Centre, Dr John Kleinsman. He is surprised and appalled at the disingenuous tactics being employed by assisted suicide supporters, saying they are a smoke screen, a Read more
Christchurch psychologist Dr Mark Ottley, says the best medications, psychological help and palliative care did not always work for patients. Ottley leads psychological pain management services at Southern Rehab. He outlined his views in a submission to the Health Select Committee inquiry into euthanasia legislation. Confusion of Terminology The director of The Nathaniel Centre Dr John Kleinsman Read more
Questions about the pastoral implications of assisted suicide continue to arise as Canada gets ready to legalize it in June while in the United States several states are poised to discuss the issue later this year. Catholic health and ethics experts, however, said there is no definite answer as to its implication on pastoral care. Read more
A Canadian archbishop has said that priests should not give the sacrament of anointing of the sick to a person who is intending to die by assisted suicide. Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa said it is inappropriate for a person intent on assisted suicide to request this sacrament. “Asking your priest to be present to Read more
An ecumenical body comprising the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches of New Zealand is stressing its opposition to the introduction of “physician assisted suicide.” The ecumenical body advises the churches on the “spiritual, ethical and cultural issues connected to biotechnology and related issues”. In making its submission to the Health Select Committee, the InterChurch Bioethics Council (ICBC), accepted that Read more
Saying yes to voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide would take New Zealand into dangerous territory, and was open to significant abuse, said Dr John Kleinsman. “The legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide is not merely a matter of individual choice and should not be based on high-profile individual tragic cases, such as the Lecretia Read more
In 15 years of practicing medicine, I have had one conversation about euthanasia and a handful about medical marijuana. Alternative therapy comes up most days but the vast majority of my conversations as an oncologist are about prolonging life. They are about doing the utmost to extract the last drops from a finite life, if Read more