Good afternoon
The preliminary referendum results are in: New Zealanders have shown their commitment to compassion by voting overwhelmingly (65.2%) to legalise assisted dying.
It’s been a long, hard campaign and I’m delighted to congratulate our overseas colleagues on their momentous victory.
This is an enormous win for pro-choice campaigners around the world - it shows just how influential we can be when enough people work together for change. Dignity in Dying stands alongside Kiwi campaigners who, like us, support a strongly safeguarded law that has been demonstrated to work for more than two decades in the USA, and is now the model for legislative change in Australia and New Zealand.
Every win for assisted dying abroad adds pressure for MPs and MSPs to act. If progressive countries around the world can change the law to end needless suffering and cruelty for dying people and their families - so can we.
And change starts with you.
In the UK, public support for assisted dying is overwhelming - now we must focus on changing the minds of MPs and MSPs. One by one, support for assisted dying is growing in our parliaments but we need your help to make sure every parliamentarian in the UK is being lobbied on this issue.
I want the UK to be the next good news story. The time for change is now.
Thank you for all you do to support the campaign - together, we will change the law.
With gratitude and solidarity,
P.S. Success in New Zealand means that now is the perfect time to meet your MP to discuss assisted dying. Join a Dignity in Dying webinar next week to find out how!
