New Zealand to vote in referendum on euthanasia

If passed, referendum will allow assisted dying for terminally ill if doctors approve

New Zealand is to become the first country in the world to put euthanasia to a binding public vote after its lawmakers passed a bill laying out what the country's assisted dying regime would be.

The law, which would allow terminally ill people with less than six months to live to choose assisted dying if approved by two doctors, passed its final reading in parliament in the capital, Wellington, on Wednesday by 69 votes to 51. It was a conscience vote, meaning that most lawmakers did not vote along party lines.