The coalition Government has released the terms of reference for its first statutory review of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 (Act).
Although the review may be welcome by many, there is no guarantee any change will take place. The Government itself will not make changes to the Act following the review, however individual parties can decide whether to pick up and progress changes through private members’ bills.
To have your views heard, access the online consultation survey here. The closing date for submissions is 26 September 2024 and you can contact us if you have any queries relating to the review.
Review background
On 7 November 2021, the Act made assisted dying legal in New Zealand, and set out the framework, including eligibility criteria, processes and safeguards. The Act requires the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora to undertake a review of the Act within three years of it becoming law and – following this – a review every five years.
The Act was a member’s bill introduced by ACT leader David Seymour and was passed by Parliament on the condition that a public referendum was held on whether the Act should come into force. At the General Election in 2020, 65.1 per cent of respondents voted in favour of the Act.
The Review
The review of the Act has two parts:
- a review of the operation of the Act by the Ministry of Health; and
- an online process to gather public opinion about changes that could be made to the Act.
An area which is likely to be of particular interest is the ‘gag’ rules, which prevent doctors from being able to discuss assisted dying with their patients and instead require patients to raise the medical intervention with their doctor.
Another area of contention has been the eligibility for assisted dying only being available to terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live. This was a compromise made during the Parliamentary process to appease the Green Party to ensure David Seymour got enough votes to pass the bill.
The highly personal nature of these issues provides an interesting backdrop for this year’s review process. The Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora says it will be informed by targeted engagement with organisations and individuals referenced in the Act, or that have roles related to the Act.
The Ministry has sought feedback on consultation questions, which broadly relate to access to assisted dying, safeguards, process to receive assisted dying, requirements relating to medical practitioners, oversight of assisted dying, and alignment with the wider health system.
Author: Stella Smith
