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Green MP Marama Davidson wants Maori to get involved in the debate over whether euthanasia should be made legal.
Parliament last night sent ACT leader David Seymour's End of Life Bill to a select commitee, after it was amended to require a referendum before enactment.
Ms Davidson voted in favour of the first reading because she believes people with a terminal illness living a quality of life that is not acceptable should have a mana motuhake right to decide how to check out.
But there need to be safeguards for kaumatua, people with disabilities, and people who need better mental health support.
"This should not be seen as a way for people to feel they are a burden in any way. This needs to be a true choice including making sure we have good palliative care and kaupapa Maori focused palliative care, manaaki, for people who are sick or dying," Ms Davidson says.
She says it's an anomaly there is a bill to allow euthanasia when measures to manage pain involving marijuana are still illegal and she would like that conversation moved up the agenda.
MARAMA DAVIDSON FULL INTERVIEW
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