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More than 65% of voters supported the proposed law, according to preliminary results of a referendum announced by the country’s electoral commission on Friday.
New Zealanders were also asked to vote on cannabis legalization: 53.1% said no.
Official results of the vote of euthanasia It will be published on November 6 and the law will take effect a year later.
The law contains several provisions for those eligible to receive “assisted death.”
The person must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident over the age of 18 with a terminal illness “that could end the person’s life within 6 months”; is in an “advanced state of irreversible impairment of physical ability”; and is experiencing “unbearable suffering that cannot be alleviated in a way that the person considers tolerable.”
They would have to be evaluated by multiple medical professionals, including one from a government-appointed physician.
Doctors and nurses cannot start the conversation about assisted dying, and healthcare professionals are not obligated to help people who want to die if they have a conscientious objection.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia are only legal in a handful of countries and jurisdictions around the world, including Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Canada.
