John Key attacked over euthanasia comments

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Key attacked over euthanasia comments

3News NZ

Prime Minister John Key

Prime Minister John Key

By Jenny Suo

Health professionals have attacked the Prime Minister over comments he made about euthanasia.

John Key claimed it already “effectively happens” in our hospitals, and now those who care for the dying are worried the public will stop trusting them.

Sinead Donnelly is the chair of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, and she looks after 500 dying patients a year. She says she's never helped any of them die.

“We were appalled by the statement. Coming from the Prime Minister of New Zealand, which is a highly respected position that people would take seriously. That's clearly not true,” she says.

Prime Minister John Key made the claim on Newstalk ZB while speaking about Maryan Street's euthanasia bill, which is in the private members' ballot.

“I look at the situation where I think there is a lot of euthanasia that effectively happens in our hospitals,” he said.

And this evening he said it again.

“In a practical sense, I think that already happens in New Zealand.

“Switches get turned off from time to time don't they.”

But Ms Donelly says Mr Key is confusing the situation.

“Euthanasia is the deliberate act by a doctor of ending the life of a patient. So it may be that the prime minister is confusing – because he doesn’t understand the complexities of medicine – he may be confusing euthanasia with other aspects of care, she says.

She is concerned the public will believe Mr Key's claim and in turn lose trust in hospital care.

But Mr Key says he stands by his comment, and he doesn't think there'll be any negative consequences.

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Comments

25/08/2012 5:35:07 p.m.

katrina wrote:

Enough morphine to someone who is so unwell they are immobile and bed ridden and their lungs fill up with fluid and they die. Easy and often done.

25/08/2012 10:53:52 a.m.

vicki wrote:

@ Mike what relevance do your comments have to this issue? Once again you can't just bag the left as a means of getting across your points (whatever they are), we are at least 40% of NZ society, so we need to work together, not fight and be negative about each other. There needs to be a fundamental change in the way our policiticians and politics work in this country. We need to stop this petty battle of left vs right and work together for the good of all. As for the right to end your own life, that is a choice we all have the right to, just like we have the right to abortion, it is a personal choice, not the states or anyone elses.

25/08/2012 6:41:09 a.m.

Divadays wrote:

It DOES happen. Food, water, medicine are stopped all the time..resulting in a (often) long or drawn out, not nice at all death. If medicines are not given, for say, an infection, that person, who in desperation has stipulated the no life-saving anything, will be in more pain and suffer more...and yet, if our pet is sick and is in pain and will eventually die, but still has a bit to go - in pain and suffering - we put them humanely to sleep. I don't understand the problem here. How can we do less for those we love? I have given strict orders to a couple of people for myself in certain situations. I would do the same for them if asked. It is HUMANE to help someone who wishes to, to pass comfortably and in a manner that assures peace of mind, lessens any fear etc and is just how THEY WISH to go! Why is this even being argued about? It will not stop baddies from doing what they already do. The solution is fairly simple. Select 3 people (inc a Dr if they wish) to share in the decision making in the event a person is no longer able to give the go ahead but is in the state that they have stipulated they do NOT wish to be in. Done. NEXT!!

24/08/2012 9:43:29 p.m.

Brent wrote:

Sounds like John Key needs to Take Mrs Brown's That's Nice approach when ask for his Opinion.

24/08/2012 9:04:15 p.m.

Chris O'Brien wrote:

I am shocked that our Prime Minister is so lacking in knowledge when it comes to matters relating to end of life care. He claims to support euthanasia but appears to not even know what this constitutes. This does not bode well should Maryan Street's bill be drawn from the ballot. John Key has significant influence. Uninformed statements by him are likely to influence others and in this case, harmfully.

24/08/2012 3:06:47 p.m.

dave johnstone wrote:

Lets try it out on the Hypocrite the PM before he kills the elderly off with his harsh and brash constraints that he has in store for them ,if the Asset sales full through.

24/08/2012 3:04:21 p.m.

alison wrote:

@ Eddie I too have lost loved ones and yes some after pain relief and some not. There in lies the difference. Pain relief is for anybody regardless of if you are terminal. Its already a right to have effective pain relief. We do not have the right to end a life and as the pm key should keep his politics out of the debate of euthanasia unless he is informed in the medical side which I believe he is not. Doctors sign an oath to preserve life and shouldnt be assumed to be doing otherwise by a person in keys position. Total foot in mouth

24/08/2012 7:58:31 a.m.

eddie wrote:

No Alison, 100% wrong there....no politics involved in my post....I'm glad it does go on after seeing father wasting away and in agony so much he slept almost 24hrs a day, all family at his hospital bedside and no idea when he would die...cpl of routine injections and 10mins or so later he passed. Wonderful release from so much pain.
It's a GOOD thing Alison...leave politics out of this one...thanks David for not having a go at who said it (Blue/Red or Green), but agree with the substance in this instance.

24/08/2012 7:37:52 a.m.

Mike wrote:

NZ has had hospitals turn off life support as long as it has had life support.

We have the moaning from the left about wages and welfare. Well our inflation rate is low. The price of food has been static over the last year. How does our wages/welfare stack up in say the last year internationally?

Oh wait, in international terms when compare against the EU/USA/UK/Japan the position of NZ wages/Welfare improved! Why are the moaners not shouting this from rooftops! Against Aus, the gap widened as their economy is experiencing a boom from mining, and if exclude mining, NZ is actually perfroming better than even Australia.

So what do the monaers want? They want like 10, 20, 30, even 50% increases as with no increase in the price of food. They want our dollar devalued as just 20% less value will raise petrol 55 cents a ltr and the price of milk from say $4 for 2 ltrs to $5. They want no change to our abysmal education system which fails so many students and doesn't even inform the students, their parents, or potential employers of those failures. Much has been learned from the Christchurch experience where schools had to make do with less, and many of those ideas have been put forward in the partnership proposal, hence the moaners are against that too!

24/08/2012 5:57:46 a.m.

alison wrote:

complete foot in mouth once again.