Assisted Suicide:

A Beautiful Response to Brittany Maynard

There has been plenty of media coverage in NZ of the sad death of Brittany Maynardyesterday. Maynard, 29, who was suffering from terminal brain cancer, used her last month to advocate for “death with dignity.”

But have you heard of Maggie Karner? Karner has the same diagnosis as Maynard: terminal brain cancer. She also received her diagnosis earlier this year. Watch her message of hope and encouragement amidst the reality of her condition - 'A letter to Brittany Maynard'.

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And have you heard of Kara Tippetts? Tippetts, a 38-year-old mother of four, has terminal breast cancer. She also wrote to Maynar, saying "Yes, your dying will be hard, but it will not be without beauty." She has also written a book "The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard".

Family First NZ opposes any attempt to legalise assisted suicide (euthanasia) in New Zealand. The key priority must be to improve the provision of high quality palliative care and practical support. The highest quality of pain control and palliative medicine should be given priority in medical training so that every New Zealander can benefit. To legalise assisted suicide (euthanasia) would place large numbers of vulnerable people at risk – in particular those who are depressed, elderly, sick, disabled, those experiencing chronic illness, limited access to good medical care, and those who feel themselves to be under emotional or financial pressure to request early death. Furthermore, any law change would undermine the well-established legal, medical and social principles that people should not be helped to kill themselves and that doctors should not intentionally end life. Maintaining the current laws protects all New Zealanders equally.

READ our Report released earlier this year: KILLING ME SOFTLY - Should Euthanasia Be Legalised?

ENDS

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