New Zealanders took part in the referendum on a number of issues. The majority of the population voted to legalize euthanasia for terminally ill patients, CNN reports.
For those suffering from the terminal stages of the disease to have the opportunity to legally die, 65 percent of the country's citizens voted. The issue was submitted to a referendum after a vote in parliament in 2019: then 69 legislators voted for it, 51 against.
In the same referendum, the issue of legalizing cannabis was raised, but more than 53 percent of New Zealanders opposed such a decision. The total number of voters is 2.4 million.
“New Zealand will become a more compassionate and humane society. Thousands of our fellow citizens, who would face an agonizing death, will retain the possibility of choice, dignity, control over their own bodies according to the law, ”the ACT political party, which proposed the bill, said in a statement.
The results of the referendum will be officially announced on November 6, the law will come into force in a year. Euthanasia will only be available to permanent residents of the country who face an inevitable and painful death over the next six months. Doctors and nurses will be prohibited from being the first to talk about such an opportunity with patients, and no physician will be obliged to take part in such a procedure.
In most countries of the world, euthanasia is illegal: among the countries where it is available by law are Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada. At the moment, such a decision is being discussed in the UK.
