MEDIA RELEASE

12 June 2000

Gael Donoghue
Health Spokesperson

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE PARTY SUPPORTS DOCTORS AND HOSPICE WORKERS AGAINST EUTHANASIA

Christian Heritage Health Spokesperson Gael Donoghue, congratulated the New Zealand Medical Association and Hospice New Zealand on their statement that their primary concern was care of the living and NOT assisting death. The statement came in response to the Australian Right to Die campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke’s visit to New Zealand with the intent to open Euthanasia Clinics. “The Christian Heritage Party is delighted that Dr Nitschke received NO support from these two groups,” said Mrs Donoghue, “and I am amazed at the man’s gall in saying that he was SURE most New Zealanders supported the right of terminally ill people to choose when to die. The thousands of members of the Christian Heritage Party who support our opposition to any legislation that advocates assisted suicide or euthanasia certainly do not, not to mention the many thousands of pro-life caring people in our country who have higher value systems than obviously he does.

“Only last week New Zealanders who watched the Holmes Programme saw the plight of a very ill man who was begging for his life to be terminated, only to learn several days later that he had changed his mind for the present, as he was more comfortable. The wonderful palliative care given by Hospice workers and the positive care from the Medical Profession who have said (through their chairwoman) that they could not support legalising euthanasia, need support and encouragement from the community at large for their work with the disabled, ill and dying,” said Mrs Donoghue. “Because Dr Nitschke’s efforts in Australia were legislatively overturned after he had assisted four patients to terminate their lives, does he think New Zealand will be more tolerant of his views?” she asked. “The Hospice officer, Ann Martin, made it very clear when she said Hospices were not in the business of killing off their patients,” said Mrs Donoghue.

If we went down this road how tenuous would the right to life in this country be (currently only our most vulnerable, our unborn are denied this). Dr Nitschke needs to be reminded of the second-degree murder conviction Dr Jack Kevorkian (Dr Death) received last year. The latter is now serving a prison sentence for deliberately putting people to death in the USA.

“The Christian Heritage Party continues to champion THE basic human right – the right to life, and unequivocally affirms euthanasia and assisted suicide to be wrong,” Mrs Donoghue concluded.

Contact: Mrs Gael Donoghue on (06) 347 6000 or (025) 514 980
Party Leader Graham Capill (021) 661 766

© Scoop Media