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An Investigation into Ending One’s Life in New Zealand – Have Your Say!

By NZHPA
September 25, 2015
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The Health Select Committee at Parliament is holding an investigation into Ending One’s Life in New Zealand. It will investigate: 1. The factors that contribute to the desire to end one’s life. 2. The effectiveness of services and support available to those who desire to end their own lives. 3. The attitudes of New Zealanders toward the ending of one’s life and the current legal situation. 4. International experiences. The …Read More

Debates on euthanasia: The soul of medicine is on trial

By NZHPA
April 25, 2013
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Sinéad Donnelly Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB), Wellington Adjunct Professor, School Biological Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington Senior Clinical Lecturer, Otago School of Medicine, Wellington This article was originally published in the Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 23-November-2012, Vol 125 No 1366 I come from a long line of doctors; since 1905, three generations and seven doctors. From my general practitioner grandfather I have …Read More

Position Statement on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

By NZHPA
February 23, 2013
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New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance Incorporated Te Hononga Mātanga Hauora o Aotearoa The New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance Inc (NZHPA) opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide. Euthanasia is the deliberate ending of a patient’s life by a health professional. Participation in this practice is unethical. It remains wrong, regardless of a request for it from a patient or their family/whānau. NZHPA supports retention of the current law which makes euthanasia and …Read More

Does euthanasia already happen in NZ?

By NZHPA
April 24, 2012
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Do hospitals and hospices already effectively practice euthanasia through administering pain relief or withholding medications? Radio New Zealand interviews Sinead Donnelly of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine and Anne Morgan of Hospice NZ.

GP pleased Medical Council drops abortion statement appeal

By NZHPA
November 29, 2011
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Media statement from Catherine Hallagan Dr Catherine Hallagan, a General Practitioner from Wellington and spokesperson for the New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance, told NZ Doctor that the NZHPA is very pleased that the Medical Council has abandoned its appeal. Dr Hallagan said that she had felt strongly about challenging the Medical Council’s draft statement on “Beliefs and medical practice”since first reading it in 2009. “I was shocked at what I read …Read More

Back to court to fight out doctors’ abortion advice role

By NZHPA
February 15, 2011
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Legal debate is set to resume over a doctor’s obligations when consulted about abortion. The Medical Council has appealed last year’s High Court judgement requiring it to change its guidance to doctors with a conscientious objection to abortion. Talks have failed so far Talks are continuing between the council and those who brought a case against it, says council chair John Adams. “We have always been hopeful of a resolution, …Read More

Medical council appeals abortion ruling

By NZHPA
February 15, 2011
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The Medical Council is appealing a High Court judgment that it must change its advice to doctors who conscientiously object to abortion. Council chairman John Adams said Tawa Medical Centre GP Catherine Hallagan and the New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance had last year instigated a judicial review which challenged the council’s advice to doctors on abortion and their own personal beliefs. Wellington High Court judge Justice Alan MacKenzie ruled in …Read More

Doctors’ right to refuse abortion advice upheld

By NZHPA
December 7, 2010
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The High Court has upheld the right of doctors who object to abortion to opt out of giving advice to patients seeking the procedure. The court last month heard a case taken by Wellington GP Catherine Hallagan, who objected to proposed changes to Medical Council guidelines regarding beliefs and medical practice. Her lawyer said the proposed guidelines went too far in defining the way in which doctors should handle patients …Read More

Judge upholds doctors’ stance on abortion advice

By NZHPA
December 7, 2010
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The High Court has upheld the right of doctors with a conscientious objection to abortion to opt out of giving advice to patients seeking the procedure. The case, which was heard last month, was taken by a Wellington GP who objected to proposed changes to Medical Council guidelines on how doctors deal with abortion requests. Justice Mackenzie found the guidelines went too far in requiring medical practitioners to provide information …Read More

Doctors’ abortion guidelines overstep law

By NZHPA
December 3, 2010
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New Medical Council guidelines for doctors dealing with the issue of abortion have overstepped the law and need to be amended, the High Court has ruled. Among the requirements in the council’s beliefs and medical practice statement, doctors were required to ensure patients were aware that abortion was an option if they were concerned about their pregnancies. Doctors who did not want to provide the service could refer the request …Read More