Support Life Sunday is a day set aside to encourage Catholics everywhere to reflect on life and the human dignity of every person. “Every person matters… always! He mea nui te ora o ngā tāngata katoa… i ngā wā katoa!” So reads New Zealand’s Support Life Sunday tagline. Inspired by the Vatican document Dignitas Infinita Read more
More than a year after the Government launched a top-level advisory group on Long Covid, leading experts worry sufferers are still being let down by the health system. Those concerns have been aired in a series of just-released video interviews, as the Ministry of Health says it’s impossible to quantify how many people are living Read more
More palliative care investment is needed in New Zealand, says Royal College of GPs medical director Dr Bryan Betty. He’s concerned about ACT Party leader David Seymour’s desire to widen the End of Life Choice Act criteria. Seymour argues the change is necessary, as many who want assisted suicide are “missing out”. Seymour says this Read more
New Zealand has just recorded its highest death count in a 12-month period – driven by the Covid pandemic and our ageing population. Statistics New Zealand today released its year-on-year update on births and deaths between September 2021 and September 2022. It showed a “sharp” 10 per cent increase in the mortality rate, with 38,052 Read more
Serious concerns have emanated from the first annual report of the Assisted Dying Service. The Assisted Dying Service which came into force last November has just released its first annual report for the period from November to March. By the end of June, 400 people had applied for an assisted death, 143 had died and Read more
Changes to New Zealand legislation in March 2020 has resulted in a three per cent rise in abortions. After a decade of falling numbers, the Ministry of Health says 13,246 abortions were performed last year. This number compared to 12,857 in 2019 and 16,630 in 2010. The mean age of those having an abortion last Read more
New Zealand health officials are expecting legal action when the new End of Life Choice Act comes into force on 7 November this year. Ministry of Health officials have highlighted “complex and sensitive elements” to the End of Life Choice Act and incoming assisted dying regime in a briefing paper to Health Minister Andrew Little. Read more
People want to make him New Zealander of the Year. He has a twitter account and tweeting his memes and a fan base dubbed “Bloomers”. He has had a song written about him; hand towels bearing his image have sold out, but you can still get the T-shirts and tote bags. Colleagues describe him as Read more
The Catholic Church in New Zealand has not as yet prohibited sharing the chalice and sharing a handshake at the sign of peace at Mass. “Should there be a need for restrictions on receiving Communion or the exchange of the Sign of Peace, these will be immediately notified to parishes throughout the country,” said the Read more
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health wants more research into pornography because it has become “more extreme, deviant and violent over the last two decades.” The ministry was responding to a request from the Government and Administration Select Committee for a written submission on a petition it is considering which was presented in June 2017 by Family First’s Read more