Poll shows need for 'clarity'

Lecretia Ms Seales was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2011 and died on June 5 this year.

Lecretia Seales’ husband says law change needed after 11.8% of GPs admit to assisted dying.

The widower of Lecretia Seales says a recent poll showing almost 12 per cent of doctors have helped patients to die highlights the need for legislative change.

Matt Vickers said the New Zealand Doctor survey looked "fairly consistent" with what he understood end-of-life practice to be in New Zealand.

"There is this stuff going on and some legislation around it would give both people who are for voluntary euthanasia and those against it a lot more clarity around assisted dying, a lot more clarity around what's practised and when.

"The sort of legislation that Lecretia was after would give us a lot more visibility and certainty around when those things were being done and the consent under which they were actually being practised."

The fax poll, conducted by the New Zealand Doctor magazine and IMS FaxHealth, found 11.8 per cent of GPs had helped a terminally ill and suffering patient to die.

The survey had 110 respondents, meaning about 13 doctors had assisted in a patient's death.

The report also found that nearly 41 per cent of respondents had been asked by family members to assist in a death.

The ethical debate around voluntary euthanasia was highlighted this year when Ms Seales, a Wellington lawyer, filed a statement of claim in the High Court seeking a ruling to determine if her GP could lawfully administer a lethal dose of drugs to end her life at a time she chose.

Ms Seales was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2011 and died on June 5, just hours after a judgment was made in the case.

Shortly before her death, however, she learned the claim had been rejected due to "complex legal, philosophical, moral and clinical issues" that could be addressed only by Parliament.

The New Zealand Doctor poll asked participants if doctors should have a role in assisting terminally ill people to die, with 44.5 per cent saying "yes", 47.3 per cent saying "no", and 8.2 per cent saying "don't know".

When asked if a law change was needed to allow doctors to assist in a death without being prosecuted, 45.5 per cent of respondents said "yes", 44.5 per cent said "no" and the rest did not know.

The majority thought assisted death was not common, 40 per cent saying it was rare and 14.5 per cent very rare.

However, 16.4 per cent of respondents did believe it was common, 4.5 per cent very common, and 24.5 per cent did not know.

A large portion of the GP participants were concerned about the consequences of a right-to-die law. Asked if this law would be misused or manipulated, 73.6 per cent said "yes", 20 per cent said "no" and 6.4 per cent did not know.

The poll had a margin of error of 9.3 per cent.