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Preliminary results of the referendum show that 65.2 percent. voters supported the introduction of the euthanasia law.
This will allow terminally ill people who are less than six months old to choose euthanasia if at least two doctors agree. The request must be signed by the patient’s physician and an independent physician, and if either of them doubts the person’s ability to make an informed decision, psychiatric help should be sought.
The results announced on Friday do not yet include approximately 480,000 special votes, including overseas votes, so the final result will only be confirmed on November 6. However, the decision should not change.
There are several criteria that a person must meet to request euthanasia. A person can do this only if:
- you are suffering from a fatal disease from which you are likely to die within six months;
- the person has a significantly reduced physical capacity;
- you must be able to make an informed decision about euthanasia.
The legislation in this case will allow the doctor or nurse to prescribe a lethal dose of the drug, which will be injected during the follow-up of the patient. The law also states that a person cannot be sacrificed solely because of his old age, mental illness or disability.
The new law is expected to come into force in 2021. November By legalizing euthanasia, New Zealand, between the Netherlands and Canada, would become the seventh country in the world to do so.
The results of the vote on marijuana are still vague
A referendum to legitimize euthanasia was held alongside the October 17 general election, which was won by a wide margin by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s center-left Labor Party. In a separate non-binding referendum held at the same time, New Zealanders were likely to reject a proposal to legalize amateur cannabis.
The preliminary results for the cannabis vote were 53.1% ‘no’ and 46.1% ‘yes’, although this result is also subject to changes in the calculation of special votes.
Last year New Zealand’s parliament voted in favor of a bill to legalize euthanasia, but lawmakers delayed its implementation until the public spoke in a referendum.
AFP / Scanpix Photo / New Zealand Flag
Ardern supported the euthanasia law and said he reluctantly agreed to call a referendum last year because it was the only way to advance the law.
During the election campaign, she avoided expressing her views on the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, despite the 40-year-old admitting to smoking marijuana “a long time ago.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Friday that it voted in favor in both referenda.
She “will push for any legislation against the will of the people after the final results are announced next week,” an Ardern spokeswoman said.
Under the marijuana measure, people could buy up to 14 grams of marijuana a day and grow up to four spells of cannabis per household.
Recreational cannabis will remain illegal if more than 50 percent of those who vote against it next Friday are still there.
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