The End of Life Choice Bill has now been under consideration by Parliament for close to two years. This week MPs give it a final once over before deciding whether the public should do the same next year.
Interest will be intense so here's a watcher's guide.
David Seymour speaks at the End of Life Choice Second Reading Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
A brief outline of the End of Life Choice Bill
The End of Life Choice Bill is a member's bill (i.e. not from the government), put forward by ACT Party leader David Seymour. It was chosen at random in the member's bill ballot in June 2017 and has been before the House since December 2017.
The Bill seeks to make it legal for terminally ill people to ask for assistance in ending their own life. That may sound simple but the Bill is not short because there is a fair bit of process and a number of safeguards built into it. Some of the process, detail, and the people eligible to apply have changed through the parliamentary process to assuage MPs' and public concerns.
The Bill has been considered and contested at length; with 16 months in Select Committee (most bills get 4-6 months), and five days in the Committee of the Whole House (most bills get less than one). There were 113 proposed amendments considered by the House as well as those proposed by the Select Committee. It's been a marathon.
When to watch or listen to the debate
This bill is the first one up on Wednesday but not until about 4pm (or shortly before), because Question Time and the General Debate will come first. It's quite possible the General Debate will also touch on this bill though.
The debate will last three hours (an hour longer than usual), and span the dinner break so it will likely run from about 4pm to 6pm and from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.
After that there will be a vote (which will take about 15-20 minutes).
Numerous MPs rise for the call (ask to speak next) during the End of Life Choice Bill second reading. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
How the debate works
This is a conscience issue, which changes how both the debate and the vote happen.
Rather than a roster of speakers arranged by the party whips, the MPs who give speeches will be chosen by the Speaker as the debate unfolds. The first speech though will come from the Bill's sponsor David Seymour.
In order to give a speech MPs will need to rise to their feet and ask to speak (referred to as 'seeking the call'). The Speaker will choose one of those standing to speak, and the others will sit to try again when the current speech ends.
The debate has been extended to give more MPs the opportunity to speak. The parties have agreed there should 8 x 10 minute speeches and 20 x 5 minute speeches.
In choosing speakers the Speaker is likely to prefer MPs who have been active / spoken in the debates on this bill before, while also seeking a balance of points of view. This balance is made slightly harder by the fact that the MPs who have been most active have been those opposed to the idea.
Agnes Loheni speaks at the End of Life Choice Bill second reading. Her seat is besides the Noes Door. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
How the voting works
A conscience issue also means that parties are encouraged to give their MPs free reign to vote with their consciences (although the Greens and New Zealand First tend to vote as a bloc after a vote in caucus).
Voting is not done by the whips as an en masse proxy (as s usual for MMP votes). Instead every MP must turn up in person (or designate another MP to vote on their behalf).
A contested vote is likely. This happens when an MP disputes the outcome after a voice vote. A dispute in a conscience issue vote leads to an old-fashioned head count (called a division).
First the division bell will be rung for seven minutes to call all MPs to the House for the vote. The bell can be heard everywhere inside the parliamentary precinct from the basements to the rafters. After MPs have been given time to arrive the doors are locked and the vote is counted.
The actual vote involves MPs choosing to exit the chamber and assemble in one of the Lobbies on each side of it (the Ayes and the Noes Lobby). For each lobby an MP is chosen as Teller and will count the votes and report them back to the Clerk, who will report to the Speaker and the totals and result will be announced.
Who will vote how?
That remains to be seen but voting totals have been pretty consistent with roughly 70 in favour and 50 opposed. Based on that, it would be a surprise if the Bill did not pass.
If you want to parse the likely voters based on earlier votes you can find which MPs votes which way in Hansard. The links to all of the relevant Hansard records are here.
What happens next?
If the Bill passes its third reading then it gets checked and signed off by various people - in this order: the Clerk of the House (for accuracy), the Attorney General, and the Prime Minister. And then it is officially signed and consented as law by the Governor General.
But what, there's more... this Bill has had a clause added to require approval in a referendum at the 2020 election.
So you get to choose yourself next year. August/September perchance.
