By Boris Jancic. Opponents of a bill legalising voluntary euthanasia say they're encouraged Parliament's support for the legislation has thinned at its second reading and are vowing to only get louder. Anti-euthanasia group #DefendNZ Creative Director Henoch Kloosterboer said the opposition voice would keep growing. "It's not going to change. It's not going to stop. There are so many more conversations to be had between now and third reading," he said. "This thing isn't going away. The risks aren't going away. The burden of proof is on the proponents to prove vulnerable New Zealanders will not be placed at risk. One wrongful death would be too many."

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By Alex Perrottet. Checkpoint has run the numbers and canvassed experts views from around the country and overseas. Interviewees include: Dr Otmar Kloiber - Secretary General of the World Medical Association, Robert Preston - a former civil servant in Britain who investigated euthanasia internationally for the British Parliament, Prof Margaret Somerville - Australian ethicist with nine doctorates who spent 40 years in Canada, Kate Baddock - NZMA chair, Dr Rod MacLeod from Auckland's Hibiscus Hospice, Dr Sinead Donnelly of Doctors Say No, former MP Maryan Street, retired intensive care medicine specialist Dr Jack Havill, and many more.

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By Dr Amanda Landers. I get the feeling the general public think death is a black-and-white issue. I cannot think of a subject that has more grey. The answer to bad deaths is not euthanasia. The answer is a better understanding of basic medical ethics, of palliative medicine, of what happens to the body when it is dying, and how to care for  someone at the end of life.

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By Cushla Norman. Doctors against the Euthanasia Bill have stepped up their campaign, taking out a full-page advert in today's Herald on Sunday with more than a thousand signatures in opposition. The Bill allows doctors to assist terminally ill people who are likely to die within six months. A letter of opposition was organised by Dr Sinead Donnelley as thoughts on assisted dying continues to divide the public, politicians and medical professionals.

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By Derek Cheng. MPs opposing a bill that would legalise euthanasia are planning to put up more than 100 amendments that could push its possible passage well into next year. As currently drafted, the bill would allow New Zealanders to request assisted dying if they have a terminal illness or suffer from "a grievous and irremediable medical condition". Barry also attacked Seymour for saying that "the Sunday after the vote, the confessionals will be filled with people who have acted in quite disappointing ways misleading the public about my bill". Barry called it a "silly cheap shot" on faith-based people. "He has attempted to make it personal at different times to different groups, and I think that's deplorable. It's a much more important conversation than that and it's much bigger, even though he might not like to admit it, than even David Seymour."

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More than 1000 doctors have signed an open letter saying they want no part in what they call assisted suicide. The Care Alliance, a charity which opposes physician-assisted euthanasia, has taken out a full-page ad in the New Zealand Herald. The signatories endorse the views of the World Medical Association and New Zealand Medical Association, that euthanasia is unethical, even if made legal. Dr Sinead Donnelly, who organised the letter, said the bill is unworkable, “The message is that as doctors we don't want to be part of it. You're going to, in our view, destroy the profession of medicine by drawing us in to ending the life of our patients and two, the risk to the vulnerable is much too great.”

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By Grant Illingworth QC. The End of Life Choice Bill may be compelling in its rationale, but the execution of such a law would break the social contract the State has with some of our weakest and most vulnerable citizens and expose them to a dangerous new world in which manipulation and coercion could take on deadly consequences.

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By Simon Shepherd & Finn Hogan. Vicki Walsh was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer almost eight years ago, and has defied her initial prognosis of 14 months to live. Despite her diagnosis, she opposes the End of Life Choice Bill introduced by ACT leader David Seymour last year, which is due for its second reading in Parliament this week. Speaking to Newshub Nation, Walsh sent a plea to politicians to oppose the Bill. “I’d say we trust our politicians to make decisions for us. That’s why we don’t get to drive around at 150 kilometres or not wear our seat belt, or we have to wear a helmet when we’re riding our pushbike, and I think we trust them to protect us. We need them to protect us from this bill because idealistically, it could look very appealing to some people. It’s what it opens up.”

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The 58-year-old Kiwi euthanasia advocate who appeared in a Dunedin court in 2011 charged with attempting to murder his terminally ill mother in 2006, has now pleaded guilty to three cases of assisted suicide in South Africa. He faced charges of premedited murder at the Western Cape High Court. Renée Joubert of Euthanasia-Free NZ applauded the decision today. "Politicians who don't want euthanasia to be available to people with disabilities, mental illness, and others who may have decades to live, need to vote against the End of Life Choice Bill on June 26," she said.

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Magic Drive with Ryan Bridge: With today marking assisted dying becoming legal in Victoria, and with David Seymour’s euthanasia Bill to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday 26 June, Ryan Bridge spoke with an euthanasia expert from Australia who featured in the #DefendNZ documentaries, Professor of Bioethics, Margaret Somerville. “What we're doing here is legalising intentional killing. Now up until you've got some legislation that allows that, as you just have in Victoria, that is first degree murder! So we have to look at what happens with this – it gets normalised. It becomes a normal way to die. Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 deaths in The Netherlands are by euthanasia – and that's the ones that we know about – and we know that there's a big under-reporting problem.”

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Jim Mora interviews the UK’s Lord Carlile of Berriew QC. He has been involved in parliamentary activity in the UK for several years now, opposing euthanasia bills that have been presented, due to concerns over various safeguards. He explains why he opposes New Zealand's End of Life Choice Bill from a "secular, ethical dimension".

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克莱尔17岁时因为车祸成为了四肢瘫痪者，她甚至安排自己去瑞士实施安乐死。When Claire was 17, she became a tetraplegic because of a car accident. She even arranged for herself to be euthanized in Switzerland. 想一想你可能与父母进行的最艰难的对话！一名新西兰女子，克莱尔·弗里曼（Claire Freeman）和她的爸爸，在不同的时间段，争论过是否要对自己着手实施安乐死。Think of the most difficult conversation you can have with your parents! A New Zealand woman, Claire Freeman, and her father have argued at different times about whether she should seek out euthanasia.

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By Chris Ford. Chris Ford, a former Green Party List MP Candidate, and current Green Party member explains from 'a socialist, progressive and disability rights perspective’ why he has now swung his support to the anti-euthanasia camp', now firmly in the 'no' side on the voluntary euthanasia legislation conversation. “One could imagine that deeper future cuts to health and disability services would see many more disabled people placed under even greater pressure by both government and wider society to feel worthless and a burden.”

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By Janet McIntyre. Think about the most difficult conversation you could have with your parents. Claire Freeman is having it right now with her dad and our cameras are rolling. Claire is in a wheel chair after becoming a tetraplegic when she was 17. She’s made numerous attempts on her life and even made arrangements to go to Switzerland to be assisted to die, to the heartbreak of her family.

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Hayley Holt interviews Dr Kate Baddock. Newly proposed amendments to the End of Life Choice Bill, which is set to have its Second Reading in Parliament, have been strongly rejected by the New Zealand Medical Association, with its chair saying it "goes against the ethics of our profession".

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Most New Zealanders don’t support euthanasia for those who refuse treatment. A new nationwide Curia Market Research poll has found that 60% of New Zealanders don’t want a law that would allow an 18-year-old to refuse treatment and instead choose to die by euthanasia. A quarter (24%) would support such a law. “We can expect the boundaries to be extended in response to such pressure. Changes may not necessarily go through Parliament, but may instead consist of changes in how doctors or courts apply the law.” says Euthanasia-Free NZ spokesperson. They call on MPs to reject the End of Life Choice Bill at its Second Reading.

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We endorse the views of the World Medical Association and the New Zealand Medical Association that physician assisted suicide an euthanasia are unethical, even if they were made legal. Doctors are not necessary in the regulation of practice of assisted suicide. They are included only to provide a cloak of medical legitimacy. Leave doctors to focus on saving lives and providing real care to the dying. 1,000 Doctors say say.

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By Janet McIntyre. TVNZ's Sunday showed this trailer on Sunday 19 May, about how life in a wheelchair drove Claire Freeman to try to end her life, but Claire's now fighting to save other people's lives. "I know of people who will die because of this Bill." The full story will be aired on TVNZ's Sunday programme at 7:30pm on TVNZ One on Sunday 26th May 2019.

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Euthanasia-Free NZ. A new nationwide Curia Market Research poll shows the gap between supporters and opponents of euthanasia is narrowing, and that many people withdraw their support when asked to consider some of the details involved in the End of Life Choice Bill, says Euthanasia-Free NZ executive officer Renée Joubert.

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By Kim Knight. Euthanasia, says MacLeod, is "predominantly a white middle-class push. "There's no push in India for euthanasia, no push in Thailand or Japan. They think we're mad. They look after the people who are most vulnerable. "If we're serious about caring for New Zealanders then we need to make sure that everybody has access to palliative care. That every single rest home has adequate staffing to care for people who are dying, that every hospital recognises when people are dying, and puts in more care - not less. Rather than saying 'we can't deal with this, so we'll kill people', you look at the problem and solve the problem."

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By Eruera Rerekura. A Māori opponent of the End of Life Choice Bill says the proposed legislation goes against tikanga Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngapuhi woman Claire Freeman was amongst those who presented her views to parliament this week. The bill was due for its second reading but has been delayed until later this month (likely Wednesday 22 May 2019).

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By Grant Illingworth QC. In the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings, heavily armed police were urgently mobilised as soon as the threat was revealed. The Government acted to protect the lives of every individual in this country, with force if necessary. The Crown's fundamental obligation is to govern and protect every subject ... Opening the door to assisted suicide, without an absolute assurance that mistakes will never be made, would egregiously breach that obligation. No-one can give such assurance: it is certainly not provided by the bill currently before the House. It follows that every MP who agrees with the principle of reciprocal protection should vote to end the life of the End of Life Choice Bill.

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By Lucy Bennett: People with disabilities and terminal illnesses spent the afternoon at Parliament today in a last-ditch bid to convince MPs to vote against the End of Life Choice Bill. The controversial Bill, in the name of Act leader David Seymour, is due to have its second reading soon. It passed its first reading 76 votes to 44, by conscience vote, and Seymour is confident it will pass its second reading.

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By Claire Freeman. The End of Life Choice Bill comes with a dark side that we cannot ignore, writes Claire Freeman. “For most of my life I've been pro assisted suicide. It was about choice, dignity, and compassion. I think that's why most New Zealanders are in favour of the End of Life Choice Bill. But it's not a choice for us when we aren't treated equally, in society or within the healthcare system. It isn't a choice when we feel there are no other options.”

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Care Alliance: The ‘Doctors Say No’ Open Letter opposing euthanasia has received its 1,000th signature. Organiser Dr Sinead Donnelly, a Wellington-based Palliative Medicine specialist, says she is humbled by the response. “We started with just a very simple one-page website and it has snowballed through word of mouth and social media.” Dr Donnelly says that David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill “only includes doctors to provide a cloak of medical legitimacy. Killing is not caring. It does not require any medical skills, it just requires the abandonment of medical ethics.”

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Watch the full-length Health Central ChalkTalks panel debate on the End of Life Choice Bill from the ticketed and sold-out event on Wednesday 3 April 2019. Panelists included Former Prime Minister Sir Bill English, Dr Leonie Herx, Claire Freeman, David Seymour, Kerri Nuku of NZNO, and euthanasia advocate Dr Jack Havill.

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Morning Report: An open letter to the government calling for greater scrutiny to tidy up what they say are unacceptable loopholes in the End of Life Choice Bill has been signed by 75 lawyers and academics. One of those lawyers, Grant Illingworth QC, told Morning Report he was concerned by a loophole in the bill that could mean 16-year-olds could apply for assisted dying without their parents' knowledge.

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By Emma Hatton. Dion Howard, a therapist who specialises in youth suicide is concerned not enough is known about how assisted dying may affect vulnerable youth. He said some coverage of the Bill had glorified assisted dying, "I've had instances of young people quoting Exit International methods on how to take your own life, which became a part of our risk assessments of their situations. That was concerning to me."

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Simon Shepherd: With Act Party Leader David Seymour debated his controversial End of Life Choice Bill with Care Alliance Secretary Peter Thirkell on Newshub Nation. Thirkell says, “There’s a huge amount of expert evidence and evidence from the public saying please don’t do this. It puts vulnerable people at risk, it disrupts the doctor/patient relationship and requires them to participate in a system that would be unethical. The overseas experience certainly is not reassuring.”

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With Marama T-Pole. This week’s talanoa (dialogue) we are joined by Dr Ate Moala. Dr Moala says, “It will be the first time in the history of Aotearoa, and of course will flow over to our South Pacific nations, for doctors to be allowed to legally kill their patients – and death then will become a medical treatment for doctors to do. And in the current constraints of the District Health Boards, New Zealand healthcare resources, a death will be cheaper.”

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With Marama T-Pole. Pacific opponents of the End of Life Choice Bill stepped up efforts in the Capital this week with a rally at Parliament. Around 100 members of the Wellington Pacific community converged on the steps of Parliament to meet Pacific MPs and put forward their objections. The Bill would give terminally ill people the option of requesting help to die. Opponents say it will widen health inequality for Pacific people.

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With Jack Tame. Richard McLeod from Lawyers for Vulnerable New Zealanders says the current bill is “unworkable”. As well as Māori, the LVNZ says the Bill poses a threat to other marginalised groups including the elderly, the poor and the lonely.

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By Sophie Bateman & Anna Bracewell-Worrall. A group of lawyers advocating for vulnerable Kiwis says David Seymour's euthanasia bill poses a serious threat to Māori. "This Bill threatens vulnerable Māori who are old, sick or disabled and who are already being failed by our health system according to a large claim currently before the Waitangi Tribunal." Dr Huhana Hickey says.

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Dr Huhuna Hickey. “We’ve just done a massive fundraising campaign for Mike King’s [Gumboot] campaign, and here we are now willing to bring in legal suicide basically? There is a danger in this legislation, and it comes with irreversible, irremediable, and terminal. I qualify under that, and I’ve still got a good lot of life left in me.”

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Lately: Karyn Hay with Alex Penk. Maxim Institute CEO Alex Penk says the Justice Committee’s report leaves the Bill in a form that almost nobody supports, not even David Seymour himself. At the moment MPs are being asked to vote on a Bill that’s basically the version that nobody supports.

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With Larry Williams & Sinead Donnelly. Palliative Care experts say we shouldn't allow euthanasia – using Canada as an example, with lots of unwanted outcomes. Dr Sinead Donnelly is a Palliative Care Doctor in Wellington and explains that the risks are huge to the vulnerable in New Zealand society. She cites dangerous examples of expansion in both Canada and Oregon where forms of assisted dying are legal.

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Checkpoint: Lisa Owen with Dr Huhana Hickey. A group of 75 lawyers says it may have to take legal action to stop the End of Life Choice Bill, because it's loose criteria leaves vulnerable people open to coercion. Lisa Owen interviews spokesperson for Lawyers for Vulnerable New Zealanders, Dr Huhana Hickey.

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About two-hundred people gathered in parliament grounds to protest against the bill. One of the speakers at the rally, Dr Luatupu Cleverley, said the legislation compounded poor health outcomes for the Pacific community. Pacific people already suffer the worst statistics in the New Zealand health system and the bill goes against their culture and traditions, Dr Cleverley said. It is traditional for Pacific families to look after their own and the government should focus on improving palliative care, she said.

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Malcolm Jordan and Alex Mason. A major rally against David Seymour’s euthanasia Bill is underway in front of Parliament, with the Justice Select Committee reporting back to the house today. But a group representing Pacific Island communities is against it. The group says safeguards in the Bill will not protect the most vulnerable, particularily Pacific people who have some of the worst health statistics. They say it ignores respectful customs surrounding death and would lead to the abuse of the elderly, ill and vulnerable, and distrust of the medical profession.

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By Janine Rankin. Palmerston North woman Vicki Walsh has well and truly out-lived her life insurance payout. Diagnosed with the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme nearly eight years ago, the prognosis was that she would be dead in 12 to 14 months. She nearly was. Not from the cancer, but by her own hand.

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By Alex Penk. This week, Alex Penk found himself agreeing with David Seymour when he said that there’s been “a constant misinformation campaign” about the End of Life Choice Bill. It’s just that the chief culprit was Seymour himself, he argues. 

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Former Māori Party co-leader Dame Tariana Turia says End of Life Choice Bill if passed would mark a potentially dangerous cultural and social shift in Aotearoa. Dame Tariana, whose former ministerial portfolios includes associate health and disability issues, says tikanga Māori is that death and dying are matters for the family and whānau to attend to.

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By Malcolm Jordan and Raylene Ramsay: Dr John Fox say, “When you think about people you really know, I think New Zealanders will change their minds, and part of the reason why I agreed to tell my story is to put a face on the people who worry about the value of their life.”

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By Sinead Donnelly. As the time approaches for Parliament's Justice Committee to report back on David Seymour's euthanasia and assisted suicide bill, it is timely to carefully review the impact of legalisation in countries like Canada, often cited by Seymour as exemplary.

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By Dan Satherley and Ella Prendergast. A man with cerebral palsy has shared his harrowing story as he fights back against euthanasia. Lobby group Defend New Zealand has released its third documentary in their battle against David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill. Dr John Fox, who would be eligible, fears people may feel they're a burden if they don't choose to die.

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By Jude Barback. While last night’s Health Central ChalkTalks panel discussion on the End of Life Choice Bill raised more questions than it did answers, it is clear that this is the conversation we need to be having. Panellists included Former Prime Minister Sir Bill English, Dr Leonie Herx, Claire Freeman (who features in the #DefendNZ documentary released Wednesday 3 April), David Seymour, Kerri Nuku of NZNO, and euthanasia advocate Dr Jack Havill.

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By Dr Conrad Engelbrecht: Anaesthetist and Pain Medicine Specialist. “In debate around the End of Life Choice Bill, there is a lot of talk about pain and suffering. Is it possible to stop all pain and suffering? Can pain and suffering make a life no longer valuable, and make death a better option than life? What should a doctor's role be when a patient is experiencing intense pain and suffering?”

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By Dr Conrad Engelbrecht: Anaesthetist and Pain Medicine Specialist. Waikato Hospital’s Conrad Engelbrecht wants politicians talking about policies and funding that provide patients with support they need to navigate what can be a difficult path from pain to improved quality of life. “As someone who works with people in pain every day, I can’t support the End of Life Choice Bill. It takes a vulnerable population, one that experiences depression and anxiety and already worries that their lives hold no value to society, and offers them suicide as a solution to their pain and suffering.”

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By Venkat Ramen. New Zealand will be wrong to choose Euthanasia since its long-term effects would be deadly, says an international expert. Dr Leonie Herx, Head of Palliative Medicine at Queen’s University, Canada said that while death is a natural process, it should not be induced through medical or any other assistance. Former Prime Minister Sir Bill English, also a strong opponent, said that the End of Life Choice Bill, will place a “very large number of New Zealanders at serious risk”.

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By Hon Dame Tariana Turia DNZN. Life and death are not individual events. There are very few people who are on the Earth by themselves. We exist as part of our families, our whānau and our communities. For many Māori, death is a process the whole whānau goes through together because the whānau is farewelling a part of itself.

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1 NEWS. National MP Maggie Barry has slammed David Seymour's euthanasia proposal, saying "your Bill seeks to kill people" during a debate on TVNZ's Q+A. Ms Barry and ACT leader Mr Seymour went head to head on Q+A last night, as proposed legislation that would allow for assisted dying prepares for a return to parliament. 

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The Project. Sir Bill English has warned against making euthanasia legal in New Zealand, saying descriptions of the End of Life Choice Bill as a "slippery slope" don't go far enough. The former Prime Minister says the Bill, initially tabled by ACT leader David Seymour, will make New Zealand a "dangerous place".

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Newstalk ZB: Mike Hosking interviews Dr Leonie Herx. "The largest children's hospital in Canada - the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children - has already published their guidelines on how euthanasia will occur for mature minors. It includes if the child says they don't want the parent to know, the parent will be informed the child has died after they've received euthanasia."

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The AM Show: Dan Satherley interviews Dr Leonie Herx. A visiting Canadian doctor claims if New Zealand introduces euthanasia, it could result in children choosing to end their own lives without their parents' input. Canadian palliative care physician Leonie Herx is in New Zealand to take part in a debate hosted by North Shore MP Maggie Barry on ACT MP David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill, which would legalise euthanasia under strict circumstances.

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"There is literally a piece of my DNA that is missing, so there's no cure." Kylee Black has a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is terminal, yet, she is opposed to the End of Life Choice Bill.

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Carolyn Moynihan. A new campaign targets a bill being honed to maximise support. New Zealand groups opposing euthanasia have come together in a campaign to fight legislation in parliament that could soon legalise assisted suicide. #DefendNZ launched on March 10 with a website and video trailer introducing Kiwis who could be eligible for assisted suicide under a bill that could be passed in the current parliamentary session.

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Simon Collins. Tetraplegic model Claire Freeman planned to end her life at a euthanasia clinic in Switzerland - but instead she is now speaking out against euthanasia in a new documentary. Freeman, 40, suffered a broken neck and lost movement in her arms and legs in a car accident when she was 17.

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Laura Macdonald. A campaign against assisted dying is being launched in the wake of the End of Life Choice Bill. #DefendNZ is a series of documentaries featuring people with a terminal illness or disability. Creative director Henoch Kloosterboer says it is about expanding the conversation.

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Jared McCulloch. A campaign against assisted dying is being launched in the wake of the End of Life Choice Bill. #DefendNZ is a series of documentaries featuring people with a terminal illness or disability. Creative Director Henoch Kloosterboer says it is about expanding the conversation.

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