July 2019

Stuff co.nz 10 July 2019
Family First Comment: We need to tell society that it’s okay to need help. It doesn’t mean you are weak. It means you know your limits and capabilities. Asking for help is a strength. The implications for this bill to do harm are enormous.

OPINION: I firmly believe that euthanasia should never be an option.

I was a nursing student and I did a placement in a hospice facility. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it’s not as bad as people imagine.

A natural death isn’t something to be feared. A person can live a relatively good life well beyond the “expected date of death”.

Pain for the most part can be controlled. The way it is portrayed by the media is inaccurate. It only adds to the fear of death.

If this euthanasia bill is introduced, the criteria for who is eligible will only widen to include more and more people. The elderly, the disabled, the lonely, the mentally ill, and those who have had enough of “living”. Maybe there will be more?

I think if this bill is approved there will be no “boundaries”. They will be an illusion. Maybe one day no-one will be safe.

It also opens the door for elder abuse, to euthanise a person for being a “burden” or even for an inheritance.

Also, who in this world has the right to say that a person’s life has become “intolerable”? No-one does.

No-one is beyond help. With the right support, I believe that every person, no matter their capabilities, can live a good life that is full and happy.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/euthanasia-debate/114116774/noone-is-beyond-help-why-euthanasia-should-never-be-an-option

Stuff co.nz 5 July 2019
Family First Comment: “The vulnerable, aged and disabled face coercion and exploitation should the End of Life Choice Bill become law in NZ, a top palliative specialist in Timaru says. Passing the bill could erode compassion, and confirms an ideology that considers some lives are not worth living even if that person sees value in it. It changes a whole moral shift that we put more value in some people’s lives than others.”
Protect.org.nz

The vulnerable, aged and disabled in South Canterbury face coercion and exploitation should the End of Life Choice Bill become law in New Zealand, a top palliative specialist in the region says.

Passing the bill could erode compassion, and confirms an ideology that considers some lives are not worth living even if that person sees value in it, Dr Catherine D’Souza says.

“It changes a whole moral shift that we put more value in some people’s lives than others.

“The people we are supposed to protect in society – the old, the vulnerable, the disabled – they’re the ones who feel the pressure and feel the lack of value in their lives.”

D’Souza, employed and shared by both South Canterbury Hospice and the District Health Board, said she has never been asked about assisted dying as yet in South Canterbury.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/life/113898442/end-of-life-choice-bill-to-affect-societys-vulnerable-the-most-says-palliative-specialist

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