Legal restrictions on reporting assisted dying
The End of Life Choice Act 2019 (Section 36) prohibits the publication of:
- the method by which the medication was administered
- the place where the medication was administered
- the name of the person who administered the medication, or the name of that person’s employer.
The publication of any of these details is an offence. You cannot make them public even if the patient, their family or the practitioner are comfortable with the details being released.
What the restrictions apply to
Restricted details cannot be disseminated via:
- broadcast media
- a newspaper
- a book, journal or newsletter
- an audio or video recording
- a website that is accessible to the public
- social media.
The restrictions do not apply to court or tribunal proceedings or to reports and publications of those proceedings.
Reporting general experiences of assisted dying
Practitioners can only be named in relation to their general experiences with assisted dying, but not in relation to specific cases.
If you would like to interview a practitioner about general experiences with assisted dying, contact the media team.
The Registrar (assisted dying) is also available for interview requests
Contact the Media Team
For questions about reporting assisted dying, or to request an interview, contact the Ministry of Health’s Media Team.
Email: [email protected]