Three Bay of Plenty hospices will not be offering assisted dying when the End of Life Choice Act comes into force in November. Photo / Getty Images
Tauranga's Waipuna Hospice is one of three Bay of Plenty hospices that will not offer assisted dying services when the End of Life Choice Act comes into force in November.
From November 7, under the act a person who wishes to receive assisted dying and thinks they meet the eligibility criteria can ask a health practitioner about the process.
Health practitioners cannot raise assisted dying with a patient - the patient must raise the issue themselves first.
The act allows health practitioners to adopt a conscientious objection and patients can ask the Support and Consultation for End of Life in NZ (SCENZ) group being set up by the Ministry of Health for contact details of a replacement health practitioner.
Tauranga's Waipuna Hospice chief executive Richard Thurlow said the organisation had chosen to make a "conscientious objection" to the act.
"Offering euthanasia services does not fit with the desired aims of our organisation and to do so would cause difficulties for medical practitioners and our nursing practitioners.
"The act does make our care provisions for patients incredibly complex. But we will continue to provide services to patients will compassion and sensitivity right up to the end of their life, while not blocking their choice.
"However, having that conversation after the act comes into force will be quite hard as an organisation," he said.
"It's a very complex issue and I know my team is quite rightly concerned about the effects on patients and their relationships with them and their families."
Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith said the organisation was an apolitical group and it had also not taken a position on the act.
"It is such a delicate subject and I think it comes down to a person's individual choice."
However, Smith said it was important people talked to their family and whānau and discussed their end-of-life wishes and choices with their loved ones.
She said Age Concern was a strong advocate of people having advanced care plans in place no matter what their views were on assisted dying.
Tauranga Grey Power president Jennifer Custins said Grey Power had also not taken a position on the act but some members were strongly opposed to euthanasia.
"I'm not one of those in the 'yes' camp, while others clearly are, but it comes down to a person's free choice.
"However, I think there is still a lot of uncertainty about how the legislation will work in practice and I believe it needs to be tightened in a couple of areas."
One area of concern was how much reliance the decision-maker would have on a vulnerable person's insistence the choice was uninfluenced by family, she said.
Custins said her other concern was the right to privacy which could see a person opt for assisted dying without having discussed their wishes with their family or support person.
Rotorua Community Hospice chief executive Jonathon Hagger said the organisation, which had 350 referrals a year, would not be providing euthanasia services.
"We have taken this position because we fully support the philosophy and aim of hospice which is to neither hasten nor postpone death.
"We believe with good support people can live well until they die, and their family and whānau can be an important part of this time."
Hospice Eastern Bay of Plenty chief executive Peter Bassett said his branch of hospice endorsed the position taken by Rotorua Community Hospice.
"We support people with life-limiting illnesses and specialise in delivering palliative care services to them ... We're not experts in euthanasia services."
Bassett said any patients who wished to explore assisted dying would be referred to the Ministry of Health SCENZ group to enable them to make an informed choice.
He said no matter what someone's views on euthanasia it was important people had an advanced care plan detailing their wishes ahead of them nearing the end of their life.
The Cancer Society of New Zealand, which does not provide palliative care, has also taken a "neutral position" on the act coming into force.
"It is the Cancer Society's view that a critical focus should be to better support people nearing the end of life and their whānau."
The Ministry of Health spokesman said the ministry had a programme of work under way to manage the implementation of the act and establish an assisted dying service.
"Assisted dying will be an entirely new service within the health and disability system.
"It is not a replacement for the required delivery of appropriate palliative care services ... and the Ministry of Health is working with the Government to improve the quality and equity of palliative care services as separate to the required implementation of this act."
Nominations for the SCENZ Group recently closed and selection processes were under way, with the director general of health appointing members, the ministry spokesman said.
SCENZ is expected to be established next month with a range of responsibilities relating to doctors, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists and pharmacies involved in delivering assisted dying services, the spokesman said.
Shirley Seales, the Tauranga mother of the late End of Life Choice campaigner Lecretia Seales, said she had not expected these hospices to support the assisted dying legislation.
"However, there has been a lot of misconceptions and scaremongering leading up to the referendum and the bill being passed, and even today, there are still misunderstandings.
"I'm sure a lot of people are waiting to see how it works in practice and some are not wanting to be at the forefront of the debate.
"But I'm sure given time once people understand the legislation and are confident there are safeguards in place, it will be widely adopted."
Seales said at the end of the day it came down to personal choice.
"Most people want to squeeze as much into life as they can and not looking at ending things as soon as they can, and this included Lecretia."
Wellington lawyer Lecretia Seales sparked a national debate about assisted dying in 2015 when she brought a legal case to the High Court asking to be allowed the choice to end her life.
Lecretia, 42, died from an incurable brain tumour on June 5, 2015, the day after a High Court judge rejected her bid to have the choice of electing voluntary euthanasia.
"Our girl loved life, believe me. While she was physically incapacitated to some degree she did not want to die," mum Shirley Seales said. "But she wanted to have the choice both for herself and for others."
Her legal battle inspired Act Party leader David Seymour to take up her cause which led to the End of Life Choice Act being passed after a nationwide referendum at the 2020 general election.
• The person must be a citizen or resident of NZ
• 18 years or over
• Suffer from a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months
• Be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability
• Experience unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable
• Be competent to make an informed decision
• A person cannot receive assisted dying solely because they are suffering from a mental disorder or mental illness, have a disability, or are of advanced age.
David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill was introduced to Parliament on Thursday.