Is euthanasia legal in New Zealand?
Euthanasia legal
Voluntary euthanasia is legal in New Zealand under the End of Life Choice Act 2019, allowing assisted suicide for those with terminal illnesses.
New Zealand is one of 9 countries classified “Euthanasia legal” for euthanasia — 23% of the 40 with data. (Also searched as assisted dying.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Legality of euthanasia
- Last checked
- 15 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Australia
- Assisted dying only Physician-assisted suicide is legal in Australia under voluntary assisted dying laws, but active euthanasia is not legal.
- Philippines
- Illegal Active euthanasia is illegal in the Philippines, and doctors face imprisonment for assisting suicide.
- Chile
- Passive only Chile allows passive euthanasia but not active euthanasia or assisted suicide.
- Argentina
- Passive only Argentina allows passive euthanasia through patient or representative consent, but not active euthanasia.
- Japan
- Varies by region Japan has no official euthanasia laws, but local court cases have created a tentative legal framework for both passive and active euthanasia.
- South Korea
- Passive only South Korea legalized passive euthanasia in February 2018, but active euthanasia remains illegal.
Other laws in New Zealand
- Abortion
- Legal on request
- Suicide Laws
- Not a crime
- FGM Laws
- Specifically banned
- Organ Donor Consent
- Opt-in (explicit consent)
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.