Increase in people fearful of euthanasia

PRESS RELEASE
A press release from Family Life International, New Zealand

Wednesday 07.02.07

New Zealand organisation sees increase in people fearful of euthanasia

Family Life International has seen an increase in elderly New Zealanders who are concerned about being euthanasied by medical staff who share Dr Philip Nitschke’s beliefs about euthanasia.

“In the last twelve months we have seen a marked increase in enquiries from people who want to know what they can do to legally protect themselves from people like Dr Nitschke, who believes that medical staff should be allowed to kill patients” says Family Life International media spokesperson; Brendan Malone.

“Older New Zealanders appear to be particularly frightened by the increasing promotion of euthanasia, which promotes the false idea that elderly people are a burden on society and that it is a good thing to prematurely end their lives.”

Family Life International offers a generic patient protection document that many people have adopted and specified for their own situation.

“Patient protection documents allow people to take legal steps to protect themselves from the ever increasing threat of euthanasia” says Brendan Malone.

“Dr Philip Nitschke’s claims that you can have safe and legal euthanasia are completely countered by the experience of the Netherlands, where, since the advent of decriminalised euthanasia, thousands of people have been euthanized without giving consent, and many elderly people are scared of hospitals and doctors.”

“What does it say about Western medicine that we have people like Dr Nitschke running around promoting the idea that it would be progress for doctors to start killing patients, rather than offering them true medical and psychological help in their time of greatest need” says Mr Malone.

ENDS

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