Colleagues
I have updated the section on New Zealand to reflect the latest annual report as attached and online at: https://www.
- 1210 people were euthanased or assisted to suicide between 7 November 2021 and 31 March 2025; with 472 such deaths between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.
- Deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide accounted for 1.25% of all deaths in New Zealand in 2024-25 - up 49% from 2022-23.
- Only 19 (1.6%) of the 1175 applicants in 2024-25 were referred to a psychiatrist and of these 3 were found not to be competent to make an infirmed decision.
The fourth annual report covers the period form 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and reports on a further 472 deaths by assisted suicide or euthanasia. This represents 1.25% of all deaths in New Zealand in this period – a 49% increase since 2022-23.
- Of these 472 deaths, 450 (95.3%) were by euthanasia. Of the 1210 deaths in total since legalisation, 1130 (93.4%) were by euthanasia.
- The four methods of administration of the lethal poison set out in s19(2)(a) of the Act are, and the number of deaths by each method between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and in total to 31 March 2025 were:
- ingestion, triggered by the person – 17,60
- intravenous delivery, triggered by the person – 5,20
- ingestion through a tube, triggered by the attending medical practitioner or an attending nurse practitioner – 9,14
- injection administered by the attending medical practitioner or attending nurse practitioner – 441,1116
- In 2023-24, 4.44% of applicants were reported as having “multiple co-morbidities” as the underlying condition. In 2024-25 this represented 2.44% of applicants. This category is used in the Netherlands and Belgium for a range of common conditions in the aged none of which is terminal in itself – fragility, loss of vision or hearing, etc. How rigorous is the test of likely death in six months from a terminal illness being applied to these cases?
- In 2024-25, 20.92% of applicants were not receiving palliative care at the time of the application. How can you have suffering unable to be relieved if you are not accessing palliative care which is directed at providing such relief?
Cheers
Richard Egan
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