𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐒

Family First is appalled to see that the Ministry of Health has once again erroneously reported euthanasia numbers in New Zealand including one quarter where the number of deaths nearly doubled.

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First.

Reviewing recent quarterly reports from 2024, there are so far two instances where numbers have changed substantially – in one case, nearly doubling the numbers of those euthanised.

In the third quarter of 2024 (01/07/2024 to 30/09/2024) the number of deaths leapt up from 73 to 129; an increase of 77%! In the quarter prior (01/04/2024 to 30/06/2024) the number of deaths was revised down from 126 deaths to 108 deaths.

“The Ministry appears to have no idea what is going on. Whether the number of deaths each quarter are being revised up or down, the system is failing to account for what is happening and consequently it is impossible for anyone to argue the system is operating safely.”

Family First has previously raised safety concerns around how the euthanasia system is working in New Zealand, including reported numbers not aligning.

There were also concerns from whistleblowers within the End of Life Choice Review committee pointing out that they were being denied access to information and that doctors’ written accounts of deaths varied from what they described in voice.

“If the Ministry can’t even count the numbers correctly, how on earth can New Zealander have any confidence that the euthanasia system is working safely. Are they getting the criteria correct that patients must meet.

What else are they missing?” asks Mr McCoskrie.

That the Ministry is also updating its reports quietly and with no public notification or acknowledgement of what has changed is also a red flag.

“The Ministry’s willingness to try and sweep such changes under the carpet indicates a system that is neither safe, transparent, or accountable,” said Mr McCoskrie.

Family First is calling on government to intervene immediately in the interest of public safety.

In particular, the recent review of the End of Life Choice law clearly needs to be independently reviewed and revised.

Not only is this review based on wrong numbers and trends, but also written by the same Ministry who continue to publish false data.

“𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚.”

Family First is also deeply concerned by comments by Associate Minister of Health David Seymour who is overseeing the review of the law.

He stated in a media interview last year:

“The statutory review is being done by the Ministry of Health right now. I believe, without pre-empting what it will say, that it will give a lot of weight to making change.”

𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰?

https://x.com/bobmccoskrienz/status/1927473184871260320