Yesterday, the Canadian Department of Justice filed evidence in Leblanc v. Canada, including the affidavit of Oregon doctor Ken Stevens. Therein, Dr. Stevens talks about his patient, Jeanette Hall. He also describes how with legal assisted suicide, the Oregon Health Plan steers patients to suicide. His affidavit concludes:
"The Oregon Health Plan is a government health plan administered by the State of Oregon. If assisted suicide is legalized in Canada, your government health plan could follow a similar pattern. If so, the plan will pay for a patient to die, but not to live."
Please find the full text of his affidavit below. To view a hard copy of his affidavit with supporting documentation, click here.
Why Choice is an Illusion?
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Saturday, September 22, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Montana State Senator Corrects New England Journal of Medicine
Assisted Suicide is Not Legal in Montana
Dear Editor:
I am a Montana State Senator. I disagree with your article, "Redefining Physicians' Role in Assisted Dying," claiming that assisted suicide is legal in Montana. At the very least, Montana law is unclear.
Last year, Senate Bill 167, which would have legalized assisted suicide in Montana, failed. This leaves assisted suicide governed by a Montana Supreme Court case, Baxter v. Montana. An analysis by attorneys Greg Jackson and Matt Bowman describes Baxter as follows:
"The Montana Supreme Court s assisted-suicide decision . . . didn't even 'legalize' assisted-suicide. . . . After Baxter, assisted-suicide continues to carry both criminal and civil liability risks for any doctor, institution, or lay person involved."[1]
Since then, competing articles have appeared in the official Montana State Bar publication disputing whether Baxter legalized assisted suicide.[2] The editor's headline states: "Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument." [3]
Correct reporting would be that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana and/or hotly disputed. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Senator Greg Hinkle
Thompson Falls, MT
* * *
[1] Greg Jackson, Esq., and Matt Bowman, Esq., "Analysis of Implications of the Baxter Case on Potential Criminal Liability," Montanans Against Assisted Suicide & For Living with Dignity, April 2010, available at http://montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Analysis-of-Baxter.pdf
[2] Senator Anders Blewett (pro article), Senator Jim Shockley and Margaret Dore (con article), "The aid-in-dying debate: Can a physician legally help a patient die in Montana? Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument," The Montana Lawyer, November 2011, available at http://maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/montana-lawyer-pro-con-articles-nov-2011.pdf[3] Id.
Dear Editor:
I am a Montana State Senator. I disagree with your article, "Redefining Physicians' Role in Assisted Dying," claiming that assisted suicide is legal in Montana. At the very least, Montana law is unclear.
Last year, Senate Bill 167, which would have legalized assisted suicide in Montana, failed. This leaves assisted suicide governed by a Montana Supreme Court case, Baxter v. Montana. An analysis by attorneys Greg Jackson and Matt Bowman describes Baxter as follows:
"The Montana Supreme Court s assisted-suicide decision . . . didn't even 'legalize' assisted-suicide. . . . After Baxter, assisted-suicide continues to carry both criminal and civil liability risks for any doctor, institution, or lay person involved."[1]
Since then, competing articles have appeared in the official Montana State Bar publication disputing whether Baxter legalized assisted suicide.[2] The editor's headline states: "Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument." [3]
Correct reporting would be that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana and/or hotly disputed. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Senator Greg Hinkle
Thompson Falls, MT
* * *
[1] Greg Jackson, Esq., and Matt Bowman, Esq., "Analysis of Implications of the Baxter Case on Potential Criminal Liability," Montanans Against Assisted Suicide & For Living with Dignity, April 2010, available at http://montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Analysis-of-Baxter.pdf
[2] Senator Anders Blewett (pro article), Senator Jim Shockley and Margaret Dore (con article), "The aid-in-dying debate: Can a physician legally help a patient die in Montana? Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument," The Montana Lawyer, November 2011, available at http://maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/montana-lawyer-pro-con-articles-nov-2011.pdf[3] Id.