This policy proposal will be targeted towards every New Zealand citizen. We all know somebody, or somebody who knew somebody, whose life has been shortened through an illness, disability or some other tragic situation such as an unforeseeable accident. Not only is there a chance we will all possibly face this situation happening to us directly, but we may also be confronted with the unfortunate task of seeing a loved one who is facing an early death. There are 9000 people a year who die of terminal cancer, and of these, 900 die and suffer in severe pain.[i] People dying of cancer then have a one in ten chance of dying in severe pain. For these reasons everybody should care about the issue of euthanasia.
[i] Jim Robinson, ‘A painful truth’, North and South Issue 260, (January 2010), found at http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=15&sid=12c206cf-3528-4c53-b885- 94581b5c3e28%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=27421675 [accessed October 22, 2010].