Assisted dying's opponents should look to Desmond Tutu

“Desmond Tutu’s beautifully written Washington Post Op-ed might as well be an open letter to New Zealand opponents of assisted dying,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

Tutu reversed his opposition to assisted dying in a Guardian piece that he penned in 2014 after watching his friend Nelson Mandela die. This weekend he has said he not only supports the concept but as a globally significant spiritual leader and retired Archbishop of the Anglican Church, he would personally like the option of an assisted death if terminally ill.

In Tutu’s words: ‘I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life’s journey in the manner of my choice.’

“The challenge for assisted dying opponents in New Zealand, particularly the religiously motivated ones,” says Seymour, “is whether they will denounce a Nobel Prize winning Archbishop, or accept that there is nothing incompatible about Christianity and assisted dying.”

ENDS

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