House votes 63 to 57 to include a referendum in the End of Life Choice Bill

A crucial vote just passed in the committee stage of the End of Life Choice Bill. MPs voted 63 to 57 to make the law conditional on a referendum.

This means that all nine NZ First MPs will vote for the End of Life Choice Bill at 3rd reading, which should lead to it passing. That will then result in a referendum with next year’s election. Polls have shown 3:1 support for legalising euthanasia, so unless something untoward happens, we should expect terminally ill New Zealanders to gain the choice of an assisted death by the end of 2021.