Media release
Interrogating Choice: Euthanasia and the illusion of autonomy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 June 2025
Are we euthanising choice?
Maxim Institute’s latest report warns that unequal access to palliative care and weaknesses in safeguards compromise the patient autonomy promised by the End of Life Choice Act.
Interrogating Choice: Euthanasia and the Illusion of Autonomy argues that true patient choice is undermined by limited access to palliative care, weak safeguards, and poor understanding of end-of-life matters.
Despite the Ministry of Health’s recent review, which praised the Act’s implementation, whistleblowers have highlighted alarming gaps in safety and oversight. And while euthanasia is fully funded, the Ministry has no plans in place to improve palliative care services or increase the number of specialists. Palliative care provides pain relief and psychological, spiritual, and family support. Hospices receive only partial funding and rely on private donations. In many parts of the country, Kiwis at the end of their lives only have a choice between euthanasia and stretched hospital services.
True “choice” is also threatened by:
No time to reconsider: Unlike some jurisdictions that have legalised euthanasia, New Zealand has no cooling-off period in which alternatives can be sought. The shortest time from application to death is just two days, and the most common period is two weeks.
Systemic coercion: The Ministry of Health recommends changing the legislation so that doctors can proactively offer euthanasia to eligible patients—a practice currently illegal due to power imbalances and the risk of discouraging patients from seeking alternatives.
Erosion of conscience protections: The Ministry recommends that all care facilities be required to allow euthanasia onsite or lose their certification. Despite laws protecting conscientious objection, the Ministry also wants to require physicians to participate in referrals. Overseas, similar mandates have led to an increase in burnout and problems with staff retention, depleting an already stretched pool of end-of-life caregivers.
“You can’t have true choice at the end of life without understanding what natural death entails, having access to palliative care, and upholding safeguards for people who might be coerced into euthanasia,” said Maryanne Spurdle, Research Manager at Maxim Institute. “Currently, it’s far easier for terminally ill Kiwis to get assisted suicide than assistance to die well.”
Maxim Institute recommends fully funding hospices, strengthening safeguards around euthanasia, ensuring all patients receive good end-of-life information, and training more physicians to provide palliative care.
Wayne Naylor, CEO of Hospice New Zealand, calls the paper an “important counterbalance to the Ministry of Health’s 2024 Review of the End of Life Choice Act 2019.” He says, “the paper also highlights one of the greatest remaining challenges, which is that not all people in New Zealand have ready access to quality palliative care and as such, choice is immediately limited.”
For interviews, please contact:
Maryanne Spurdle | Research Manager
About Maxim Institute
Maxim Institute is an independent think tank working to promote the dignity of every person in New Zealand by standing for freedom, justice, compassion, and hope. For more, visit www.maxim.org.nz.
ENDS