The end of public consultation on assisted voluntary euthanasia is not the end of the consultative process, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg said on Thursday, as she added that she has other meetings scheduled in the coming days.

Parliamentary Secretary Buttigieg thanked those who made their various submissions, as well as the people who attended community meetings on the topic and shared their family members’ experiences.

She commented that the government will now begin evaluating the thousands of submissions based on their merit, as she added that her first impression is that some of the submissions raised technical points which require serious reflection, “even to refine the proposals that were in the public consultation document.”

Buttigieg spoke of how the public consultation on assisted voluntary euthanasia has brought about a record amount of submissions. She remarked that this was an exercise which strengthened participatory democracy, and continued that the government offered factual information and left everyone free to express their opinion, although the Parliamentary Secretary spoke of some spreading incorrect information.

She concluded that the next step on this matter will be decided after taking into account the submissions and proposals made during the eight weeks of public consultation, as well as the meetings which have already been conducted and are yet to be conducted in the coming weeks before the legislative process begins.