On Election Day, New Zealand will not only be choosing a new Government, but will also vote on the assisted dying referendum.

But a study by AUT's School of Nursing says we need more research into the potential social consequences.

Study author Rhona Winnington told Tim Dower that they need to think about more than individual and the toll of suffering, they have looked at impact it can have on those who are implicitly connected to. 

She says that the ripples of effect of assisted dying come out into those communities, this bill could fracture them. 

"When we think about our biracial nation and that interconnectedness of Maori and Pacific people, then we're looking at some problems." 

Winnington says they found that there is still a stigmatisation in countries where assisted dying is legal. 

They also found that family members felt obligated to follow that path when they felt like a burden. 

The study was based on a single case of an individual with experience of assisted dying.