Barbie’s Bill

A good petition by Louise Duffy:

What are directives and how are they different to assisted dying?

Advance Care Plans | Directives | Living Wills tell medical teams what you do or don’t want if you can’t say yourself.

Research shows 80% of Kiwis value quality of life and want their voice and choices followed in a medical event.

Assisted dying is for those with a terminal condition who choose to have medical intervention so they can pass. Directives withholding care are for those with other conditions who choose not to have treatment so they can pass.

Both should enable people to die safely, peacefully and with dignity.

So, why are the two systems that lawfully enable people to pass in NZ treated so differently?

Assisted dying has one Act that ensures patients are treated by trained doctors who do not conscientiously object to their right to die and sets up an effective system with safeguards, reporting and independent monitoring.

Directive rights are spread over three Acts. There’s no training, nothing to ensure patients are treated by someone who doesn’t object to enabled dying and an ineffective system with no safeguards, reporting or monitoring.

We can do better.

Petition Purpose

That the House of Representatives implement a national register for standardised medical advance directives and mandate that those directives are followed

Petition Reason

I believe not following advance directives can lead to untold emotional and physical suffering.

My mum had a directive refusing care should she suffer a serious loss of mental or physical capacity. However, after a stroke her directive was not followed and instead of a medicated death within 10 days, mum was kept alive requiring 24/7 care.

This led her to refuse food and, finally, fluids and she died 58 days later, unmedicated until the last days. I believe her advance care plan should have been followed.

You can sign the petition here.