New Zealand has witnessed a sharp 37.2% spike in deaths from euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide during the year April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, according to official figures from the Ministry of Health. A total of 472 cases were recorded, up from 344 cases in the previous year. These now account for 1.25% of all deaths in the country.
This concerning growth reflects a steep year-on-year rise since the End of Life Choice Act came into force on November 7, 2021. From April 2022 to March 2023, euthanasia deaths rose by 43.9%, and that trend has continued.
Notably, the data shows that 21% of applicants were not receiving palliative care, and only 9.6% had neurological conditions, despite such conditions often being a key justification for euthanasia legislation. A mere 12% of people had a disability, and only 19 applicants received psychiatric assessments to determine mental capacity.
SPUC regards these trends as alarming and warns that such policies can disproportionately affect vulnerable groups – especially the elderly, disabled, and mentally fragile – undermining their dignity and pressuring them into a premature death. SPUC further cautions that assisted suicide often becomes not a compassionate choice, but a duty to die message to the most vulnerable.
This data from New Zealand emphasises pro‑life concerns about a widening “slippery slope”: what begins as strictly controlled legislation for the terminally ill may quickly broaden into routine practice lacking proper oversight. Experience in other jurisdictions demonstrates that so-called safeguards often erode under pressure.
For pro‑life advocates, these statistics are not mere numbers – they represent human lives. SPUC urges governments to focus on expanding palliative care, mental health support, and end-of-life counselling, rather than offering death as a solution. They emphasise that genuine compassion involves care, not coercion.
As New Zealand’s figures soar, SPUC reiterates its plea: we must value every human life – from conception to natural death – and resist legislation that reduces death to a matter of convenience. The surge in assisted deaths is a solemn reminder that legal frameworks should protect vulnerable lives – not undermine them.
The pro‑life movement stands firm: life at its most vulnerable deserves protection, dignity, and support – not a lethal option.
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