Submission by RSA Member Rex Williams to the Dying with Dignity bill:

“Any person has a right to decide when he/she has had enough pain and loss of dignity, the criteria being an ability to make a rational decision, to prove, if seen as necessary,  competence in this regard and then as a free-thinking person, have access to a means of dying without further government intervention.

We are not mindless human beings, we do not need to have our thinking done for us by a government with likely mixed prejudices from any number of directions, none of which may have any association with a dying person or any other person.

So this is not acceptable to me and never will be.

In making this comment, I would extend the reasons for ending one’s life to cover the person’s own choice, with absolutely no requirement for a medical reason. Such is my strong feelings for the independence of the human person from any government involvement of any kind.

So I support any civilised action that allows a person to be treated as well as an animal in the same circumstances in the year 2014.”

13 August 2014