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Matt Vickers on why he is voting for the End of Life Choice Act

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 14 Sep 2020, 11:21AM
Matt Vickers with his former wife Lecretia Seales. (Photo / NZ Herald)
Matt Vickers with his former wife Lecretia Seales. (Photo / NZ Herald)

Matt Vickers on why he is voting for the End of Life Choice Act

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 14 Sep 2020, 11:21AM

The End of Life Choice Act will allow terminally ill patients to spend more time with their families, not less.

Matt Vickers has advocated for euthanasia since his former wife Lecretia Seales died in 2015.

After her brain cancer diagnosis, Seales battled the courts for the right to end her life.

Vickers joined Kerre McIvor for an hour of talkback on the referendum, and says that many take their own lives prematurely out of fear of suffering.

He says the act would remove that threat of suffering, allowing them to focus on quality of life and being with family.

"What this legislation does is it offers hope. It offers people a way to take back some control and have a choice, when all other choices have been taken away from them." 

Vickers says people are concerned the criteria would become too broad over time, but he says they are robust and strictly defined.

"This is probably one of the safest and most constrained in the world when you look at other versions of the legislation that are out there." 

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