A week before an international expert on assisted dying visits Whangarei, a local focus group has welcomed a Canadian Supreme Court ruling that people suffering intolerably from a terminal medical condition can choose to die.
In early February, Canada's highest court ruled that to deny people in incurable torment the right to end it in a humane manner was a fundamental assault on civil liberties. Canada's federal and provincial governments now have 12 months to create a legislative regime that protects the rights of patients, doctors and the vulnerable.
Retired Dutch doctor Rob Jonquiere, who has 30 years' international experience in end-of-life choice and legislation, will address a public meeting in Whangarei on Sunday.
Dr Jonquiere said the debate was being addressed in societies the world over, whether at government level or in provincial centres like Whangarei.
"It looks as if the time is right," Dr Jonquiere said.