Assisted deaths increase by 37% in New Zealand

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal in New Zealand on November 7, 2021 under the End of Life Choices Act which was passed in Parliament by a vote of 69 to 51 in December 2019 and endorsed in a referendum in 2020 by 65% of voters.

The most recent report that was released by the New Zealand Assisted Dying Service (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025) indicated that there were 472 assisted deaths (up from 344 in the previous year), and there 1137 active cases (up from 945 in the previous year).

New Zealand legalized both euthanasia and assisted suicide. The report stated:

For the 472 assisted deaths that took place between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025:
• 17 people chose ingestion, triggered by the person,
• 5 people chose intravenous delivery, triggered by the person,
• 9 people chose ingestion through a tube, triggered by the AMP or ANP
• 441 people chose injection, administered by the AMP/ANP.

Therefore 441 out of 472 were euthanasia and 31 were assisted suicide deaths. Similar to Canada, euthanasia has become the primary way to die by assisted death. 

It is important to note that:

• 21% of the applicants were not receiving palliative care and,
• 12% of the applicants were living with a disability. 
• only 126 medical professionals were willing to participate in an assisted death in 2024 which indicates that most medical professionals are unwilling to kill their patients, and
  
• only 10 applicants (1137 active cases) had a psychiatric assessment to check for both competence and for any presence of coercion.
  

Some those who suggest that there is no slippery slope after legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, they are ignoring that New Zealand has a political debate concerning expanding the euthanasia law. 

Anne Whyte reported for The Press on August 29, 2024 that:

The ACT Party is in the process of making moves to widen the scope on euthanasia, launching back into the contentious issue that could have sunk the law when it originally went through Parliament.

The End Of Life Choice law currently has a range of requirements needed to be eligible for assisted dying, including being in an “advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability” and experiencing “unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable”.

They also need to have a terminal illness “that is likely to end the person’s life within six months”.

The ACT leader, David Seymour, who sponsored the original euthanasia law called the terminal illness requirement "a political compromise." Seymour wants to expand the law.

Previous articles concerning euthanasia in New Zealand.

• New Zealand will debate expanding it's assisted dying law (Link). 
• New Zealand doctor offers euthanasia to a suicidal patient (Link).