Commissioner’s role to ensure equality of choice
09 March 2018
Disability Rights Commissioner’s role to ensure equality of choice — diversity expert
Internationally recognised diversity consultant Philip Patston has questioned Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero’s stance on the End of Life Choice Bill.
In an email to Tesoriero, Patston challenged her
statement that, “We must first work towards ensuring, to
the greatest extent possible, that all people have the same
freedom of choice in life before we consider legislating
choice in death.
“It’s my role to reflect the
concerns of the disability community and what I am hearing
is that there are significant concerns about this
Bill.”
Patston, who worked for the Commission
between 1994 and 1998, suggested that, as Disability Rights
Commissioner, “your role as Commissioner is to ensure
disabled people are not treated differently on the grounds
of disability.
“Surely,” said Patston, “your
role is to ensure disabled people have the same choices as
other Tangata o Aotearoa/New Zealanders. This needs to
include the right to choose dignity in dying.”
Named
as a top 10 diversity consultant in the Global Diversity
List in 2015, 2016 and 2017, Patston agreed that legislative
safeguards need to be in place, to prevent coercion and to
ensure informed consent and appropriate
assessment.
“But this is important for the very
wealthy, the very poor, and others, including people with
terminal illness.
“There are many vulnerable groups,
not just those who experience disability.”
Imagine,
mused Patston, if we stopped all people driving cars because
some people crash and kill themselves and/or others. “I'm
sure there would be outrage about the infringement of rights
to drive, even though it may be wrongfully
lethal.”
As he said in my affidavit in support of
Lecretia Seales’ case, Patston believes we land in
dangerous territory when we try to protect one group by
denying the rights of another. Both disabled people and
those with terminal, incurable, illness deserve the right to
choice and autonomy.
“My voice and those of many
other disabled people who are not afraid of assisted dying
and have trust in a fair, compassionate, good-willed
society, need to be represented in this important,
democratic conversation,” Patston
said.
Ends.