Strengthening End of Life Choice

A terminally ill person suffering unbearably should have the final say over how and when they die.

The End of Life Choice Act has given New Zealanders that option since 2021. The Ministry of Health's first statutory review recommended 25 changes to the law.

ACT MP Todd Stephenson's End of Life Choice Amendment Bill adopts all 25. It would also remove a rule that denies access when a doctor cannot say with certainty that someone has less than six months to live.

ACT's Bill will:

• Implement all 25 recommendations from the Ministry of Health's statutory review of the End of Life Choice Act.

• Replace the six-month prognosis requirement with a requirement that a person has an advanced, progressive condition expected to cause death.

• Keep the other eligibility tests, including that the person is at least 18, is in an advanced state of irreversible decline, is experiencing unbearable suffering that cannot be tolerably relieved, and is competent to make an informed decision.

• Allow a limited waiver of final consent when a person has been assessed as eligible and chosen the date and time while competent, but loses capacity before that date.

• Require training for practitioners, strengthen the Registrar's oversight, and spell out their duty to check that requests are free from pressure.

In our team's words:

ACT Leader David Seymour says:

“The End of Life Choice Act recognises that a person living with a terminal illness is best placed to decide how their final days should be spent. Almost 1,700 New Zealanders have now chosen an assisted death.

“The latest report also shows the safeguards are working. More than 300 applicants were found ineligible last year, and 42 people withdrew. The checks are real, and the choice remains with the patient right to the end.”

ACT MP Todd Stephenson says:

“My Bill adopts all 25 recommendations from the Ministry of Health's review. It also addresses the six-month prognosis rule, which remains the biggest barrier for terminally ill New Zealanders seeking an assisted death.

“The six-month rule has shut out people who are terminally ill, in irreversible decline, and suffering unbearably because a doctor cannot say their death will occur within six months. Death does not always follow a calendar.

“The Bill replaces that cut-off with a test based on whether a person's condition is advanced, progressive, and expected to cause death. All the other eligibility criteria remain.

“It also allows a limited waiver of final consent when someone has been assessed as eligible and chosen a date while competent, but loses capacity before that date. None of the existing safeguards are being weakened.

“New Zealanders backed the original law by almost two to one. Parliament should now have the chance to consider what we have learned from its first years in operation and make it work better.”