“Maryan Street and the Voluntary Euthanasia Society wanted to know New Zealanders’ views on legalising assisted suicide,” says Dr Jane Silloway Smith, Director of Every Life Research Unit, “and the people have spoken: at a ratio of about 3 to 1, they have told Parliament not to legalise assisted suicide.”
Dr Smith has been analysing submissions made to the Health Select Committee’s investigation into ending one’s life in New Zealand. She has conducted a random sampling of the 20,576 submissions made public by the Committee thus far. Her analysis has found that 78% of submitters are against legalising assisted suicide, while 22% are in favour of changing the law.
“Submitters to the Health Select Committee have overwhelmingly expressed their opposition to assisted suicide,” comments Dr Jane Silloway Smith. “The very clear ratio against a change in the current law alongside the high number of total submissions shows that there is a strong public political will opposed to assisted suicide.”
I am happy to take her word about the numbers but I've had a look at around 20 submissions.
Here's half a dozen of the noes. If Silloway is happy to assume her sample is right re numbers I will assume my sample is right re content.
(Right click on image to view)
Clearly a lot of effort has gone into collecting many sheets of paper featuring some oppositional statement in order to get anti-euthanasia submission numbers up.
Looks to me like the churches have been very busy.
Not one of the positive submissions that I have sighted was as 'unsupported' as these.
Ah. Democracy. It's a wonderful thing. Not.
I utterly resent religious people imposing their views on me via legislation - especially as pathetically expressed as these are.
Update
Some more single sentence, single page submissions.
Did any of these people follow or understand the Lecretia Seales case? Did they understand the text of the petition they were submitting on?
That the House of Representatives investigate fully public attitudes towards the introduction of legislation which would permit medically-assisted dying in the event of a terminal illness or an irreversible condition which makes life unbearable.
(Right click on image to enlarge)