Wellington, NEW ZEALAND — People from New Zealand's Pacific communities have rallied at parliament against a proposal to legalize euthanasia.
The End of Life Choice Bill would give terminally ill people the option of requesting help to die.
About 200 hundred people gathered in parliament grounds to protest against the bill.
One of the speakers at the rally, Dr Luatupu Cleverley, said the legislation compounded poor health outcomes for the Pacific community.
Pacific people already suffer the worst statistics in the New Zealand health system and the bill goes against their culture and traditions, Dr Cleverley said.
It is traditional for Pacific families to look after their own and the government should focus on improving palliative care, she said.
Parliament's Justice Committee has received thousands of submissions on the proposed legislation and its report is due today.
Pacific community members gather outside Aotearoa’s parliament to protest #EndofLifeChoiceBill pic.twitter.com/be75O9bYVn
— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) April 9, 2019
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