Euthanasia : 65% of New Zealanders in favor, sought rights in referendum
Wellington : About 65 per cent of New Zealanders are in favor of granting euthanasia to their countrymen. With the recent general election in the country, a referendum was also held on euthanasia. The results of this right are called the victory of life with dignity. In the general election, PM Jacinda Ardern has again won a landslide victory.
The counting of votes on Friday showed that 65.2 percent people are in favor of euthanasia. The results of the referendum make it clear that New Zealand will soon join the few countries where euthanasia will be empowered with the help of a doctor.
David Seymour, who is campaigning for a change in New Zealand law for the right to euthanasia, has described these results as a tremendous victory. He says “Thousands of countrymen will now have the will, dignity, control and freedom to decide for their own bodies and the New Zealand regime will protect it”.
The debate started in the year 2015
The debate over euthanasia in New Zealand was started in 2015 by Lucretia Seales. The woman died of brain tumor the same day the court rejected her euthanasia demand. Now welcoming the outcome of the referendum, Seales’ husband Matt Vickers told Radio New Zealand, “I feel very relieved and grateful today.”
On the other hand, the Solvation Army, an organization of New Zealand churches, said, “People can be forced to end their lifestyles if they have the right to euthanasia. Weak people such as the elderly and those who are struggling with mental illness will be especially at risk due to this law.’ The New Zealand Association has also opposed the reform and called it unethical even before the vote.
The right to euthanasia was first granted in the Netherlands in 2002. It was also legalized in Belgium in the same year and Luxembourg in 2008, Colombia in 2015 and Canada in 2016. It is legal in many states of America and also in Victoria province of Australia.
It is a shocking truth that suicide is also allowed in some countries. In this, the patient consumes the lethal medicine himself, rather than given by a medical worker or a third party. In New Zealand only last year, with the help of someone, the permission for euthanasia was obtained from the Parliament, but with the opinion of MPs, it was deliberately delayed to implement it so that the opinion of the countrymen can be taken.
