End of Life Choice Bill - Amendment paper No 382
End of Life Choice Bill - Amendment paper No 382
End of Life Choice Bill - Amendment paper No 382
No 382
House of Representatives
Supplementary Order Paper
Tuesday, 24 September 2019
End of Life Choice Bill
Proposed amendment to SOP No 259
Hon Alfred Ngaro, in Committee, to move the following amendment:
Clause 27B
After clause 27A (page 25), insert:
27B Cultural considerations to be recognised
(1)
Any person or organisation accorded a duty or responsibility under this Act must perform those duties or responsibilities in a manner that recognises, in relation to a person requesting assisted dying services,—
(a)
the person’s ethnic background:
(b)
the social attitudes or customs of a person and others within the person’s community, including proper recognition of—
(i)
the importance and significance to the person of their ties with their family, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family group:
(ii)
the contribution those ties make to the person’s wellbeing:
(iii)
the person’s cultural and ethnic identity, language, and religious or ethical beliefs:
(c)
the person’s spiritual beliefs, which may include a lack of spiritual beliefs.
(2)
A provider of assisted dying services must ensure that the services of a competent interpreter are provided for a person who requests assisted dying services, if—
(a)
the first or preferred language of the person is a language other than English, including the Māori language and New Zealand Sign Language:
(b)
the person is unable, because of disability, to understand or communicate in English.
Explanatory note
This Supplementary Order Paper amends Supplementary Order Paper No 259 amending the End of Life Choice Bill by inserting a new clause 27B to require that persons and organisations with duties or responsibilities under the Bill recognise the cultural considerations relevant to the person requesting assisted dying services and also ensure interpretation services are available.
Subclause (1) is primarily derived from the Coroners (Access to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Act 2018 and establishes a requirement that duties and responsibilities under the Act must be exercised recognising the ethnic background, social attitudes, and spiritual beliefs of the person. Social attitudes or customs, set out in paragraph (1)(b), include the person’s ties with their family, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family group; the contribution of those ties to the person’s wellbeing; and the person’s cultural and ethnic identity, language, and religious or ethical beliefs.
Subclause (2) is primarily derived from section 6 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and establishes a requirement that competent interpretation services must be provided to any person requesting assisted dying services whose first or preferred language is not English or who is unable to understand or communicate in English because of disability.