#DefendNZ is founded on a grassroots movement of diverse people – young and old, of all ethnicities and backgrounds, and from a full range of political and religious persuasions.
We have one common goal: to speak up about the implications that the End of Life Choice Act will have on society. To give voice to those who would be most affected by this Act and speak out about how it will impact families/whānau, the health system, legal system and the daily lives of those with terminal illness, the elderly and disabled.
#DefendNZ is here to improve the law, support people and inform culture.
Improve law
Improving law by advocating for the amending of risks identified in the End of Life Choice Act.
Support people
Supporting vulnerable New Zealanders, their families, medical practitioners and communities.
Inform culture
Informing culture through education, media and detecting abuse, coercion or expansion.
With a diverse membership, we welcome all people of goodwill who share our concern about assisted suicide and euthanasia, in particular the threat it poses to vulnerable Kiwis and the common good in New Zealand.
We are also committed to ensuring New Zealanders get accurate information on the issues and current assisted suicide and euthanasia practices within our nation.
Our vision is for a future New Zealand society where acts of euthanasia or asssited suicide are unthinkable and unnecessary. We want people to be supported and authentically cared for so they can live life to the fullest – even during their final moments.
This can only be achieved by Kiwis working together to #DefendNZ.
#DefendNZ is an initiative of Voice for Life New Zealand.
For more than 50 years the Voice for Life leadership team and members in regional groups across the country have been committed to peaceful and creative advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable and voiceless members of our society.
Voice for Life is dedicated to building a culture where human life is valued and respected. A culture where every life is protected – from conception to natural death. And that is why we are advocating for better end-of-life care and working to defend the vulnerable against the threats that the legalising of assisted suicide and euthanasia has introduced.
Why we don’t support assisted suicide and euthanasia?
Euthanasia and assisted suicide disregards the intrinsic value of human life. Legalising these practices also creates extreme risks for the vulnerable members of our society.
Authentic compassion doesn’t involve deliberately ending the life of a suffering person.It involves striving to provide the best possible care and support to alleviate their fear and suffering.
Legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia corrupts the practice of authentic medicine by turning the Hippocratic oath on its head; declaring that the ultimate harm (deliberately ending the life of a patient) is actually a good which should be practised and celebrated. It also glamourises suicide and encourages the act of assisting someone in a suicide.
The End of Life Choice Act will lead directly to the wrongful deaths of vulnerable people.
The Act creates a new legal class of tens of thousands of people in New Zealand who are deemed by the state to be living lives so meaningless that the state is happy to condone and/or carry out their killing. Instead of ending a person’s suffering, it will end the person who suffers.
The law is flawed. It’s protections are flimsy. And it’s accountability mechanisms are feeble.
Together we must protect, expose and improve to #DefendNZ.