US Euthanasia Bill All But Dead - For Now

Margaret Dore &
Dawn Eskew

This year, the US Congress considered the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," bills H.R. 1676 and S. 693. The Act seeks to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care.

The Act was viewed as noncontroversial. Indeed, H.R. 1676 passed the House on a voice vote without opposition.

There is, however, a catch.

This is because US euthanasia advocates are currently promoting "medical aid in dying" (euthanasia) as "palliative care."[1] There is a similar situation in Canada, where "lobbies are trying to influence the government to include so-called Medical Aid in Dying ... in palliative care."[2]

The significance is this: If the Act is passed into law and the above advocacy efforts are successful, medical aid in dying (euthanasia) will become part of palliative care and therefore part of the Act. More to the point, the Act will legalize and also finance euthanasia in government funded centers throughout the US. The Act is a closet or "springing" euthanasia bill.

Dore Memo to New Zealand Justice Committee: Reject End of Life Choice Bill

Click here to view a pdf version, including supporting documentation. Click the following link to view Choice Illusion New Zealand.

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] I am also an attorney in Washington State USA where these practices are legal.[2] Our law is based on a similar law in Oregon.[3]

My background includes providing legal analysis and/or testimony against assisted suicide and euthanasia, in 22 US states, South Africa and Australia. I have participated in public debates as well as public interest litigation.

The “End of Life Choice Bill” seeks to legalize assisted dying, which means assisted suicide and euthanasia.[4] If enacted, the bill will apply to people with years or decades to live, and provide cover for murder. I urge you to recommend to Parliament to reject this bill.

Patient-Directed Suicide Has Morphed into Family-Determined Suicide

Thomas Eppes, M.D.

To view original article, click here.

Recently the effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide has ramped up in Virginia. For 2,500 years, medicine has claimed the role of healer, but this dangerous public policy would change that by requiring a doctor’s participation in a patient’s demise .

Patients should never be conflicted about which role their physician plays.

New Zealand: From Scammers to Euthanasia Advocates, These Are Dark Days in Old Ladydom

To view original article, click here

Rosemary McLeod

OPINION: These are perilous times for tottering toward old ladydom. The women's mags cut your life support at 50 unless you're Helen Mirren, sooner if you're not, in which case you might as well sign up for the Philip Nitschke death machine, with optional funeral casket.

Linda Isner of Murdered by Hospice: Vote "No" on HR 1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Training and Education Act

My husband Alan Isner was overdosed on Ativan Morphine and Haldol in a hospice and died when all he needed was anxiety medication. He was not suffering from pain or agitation but was given high doses of these drugs and the medical examiner's report revealed enough Morphine to kill several people. 

Proposed Federal Palliative Care Act Is a Springing Euthanasia Bill

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

In 2012, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that many doctors object to physician-assisted suicide.[1] The article's authors, Dr. Lisa Lehmann and Julian Prokopetz, argued back that assisted deaths need not be physician-assisted.[2] They said that a central government mechanism should provide the assistance instead:

We envision the development of a central state or federal mechanism to confirm the authenticity and eligibility of patients' requests, dispense medication [the lethal dose], and monitor demand and use.[3] 

Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Counseling Suicide to Obtain Life Insurance

Justice Peter Davis

To view original article, click here

“However, one can imagine many circumstances arising where people in positions of trust and responsibility could succumb to the temptation to counsel suicide for personal gain.”

By Hope Australia

These confronting words were spoken last week by Justice Davis in the Supreme Court of Queensland, as he sentenced Graham Robert Morant to 10 years imprisonment for counselling his wife to commit suicide.

Virginia: Legislative Panel Punts on Assisted Suicide-Euthanasia Proposal

Del. Scott Garrett, MD

To view the original article, click here.

By Katie O' Connor, Virginia Mercury

A group of lawmakers shot down proposals to allow medical-aid-in-dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide [and euthanasia], in Virginia on Wednesday in a review of a series of legislative recommendations on health care.

Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, requested that the Joint Commission on Health Care study the medical-aid-in-dying debate, in which a patient with less than six months to live obtains lethal drugs through a physician to end his or her life.

Australia: Husband Who Aided Wife's Suicide to Obtain Her Life Insurance Sentenced to Prison

Graham Morant, AAP Dan Peled

By Melanie Vujkovic

Graham Robert Morant was last month found guilty on two charges — counselling suicide and aiding suicide — for persuading his wife Jennifer Morant, 56, to kill herself in her car in 2014 and helping her buy the necessary equipment from a hardware store.

The court heard Morant was the sole beneficiary of Ms Morant's three life insurance policies, which Justice Peter Davis concluded was the motivation for his actions.

Why the Site HospiceFraud Exists

An excerpt below from "Hospice Fraud." 

This is not a site that supports hospice haters. This is a site that inspires solutions. You can't totally eliminate care for the elderly, disabled or dying or you will just have euthanasia! You have to have some type of caring whatever you call it and originally hospice was the appropriate way of caring for people using the best of science to relieve suffering without killing.

Today, much greed in the industry and those who have found ways to make a lot of money off of human suffering have changed the landscape. Hospice patients are simply a money crop.

Press Release: "Proposed Federal Hospice Act Must Be Defeated to 'Stop the Waste, Bleeding and Heartache'"

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/465588180/proposed-federal-hospice-act-must-be-defeated-to-stop-the-waste-bleeding-and-heartache

Washington DC

Dore: "Existing federal hospice programs, such as the Medicare hospice benefit, are plagued by fraud, poor quality care, rampant abuse, arguably murder, and a gross waste of taxpayer dollars. Enacting another federal hospice program, when existing programs are far from being under control, makes no sense and will only cause more of the same."

"If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"

Jeanette Hall and her son, Scott, in November 2000

By Jeanette Hall

I live in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. Our law passed in 1997 by a ballot measure that I voted for.

In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had 6 months to a year to live.  I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing it. I tried to ask my doctor, Kenneth Stevens MD, but he didn’t really answer me. In hindsight, he was stalling me.

Memo to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee: Vote No on the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a summary sheet including a similar House bill (H.R. 1676), click here. For a pdf version of this memo, click here.

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am an elder law attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the U.S. and in other countries.[2] We also fight against hospice and palliative care abuse.

S. 693, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education & Training Act," amends the existing Public Health Service Act to require financial support for “Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers.”[3] This is a new program, which will include direct patient care.[4]

Existing federal palliative care programs, such as the Medicare hospice benefit, are plagued by fraud, poor quality care and a gross waste of taxpayer money.[5] S. 693 must be rejected unless problems with existing programs are resolved; Congress must not throw good money after bad. The bill must also be rejected for the reasons set forth below. 

Australian Man Convicted of Assisting Suicide

An Australian man has been convicted of aiding his wife's suicide, after a court heard he had coveted payouts from her life insurance.

Jennifer Morant, 56, had suffered from chronic pain but was not terminally ill when she died in 2014, a court heard.

A jury found that Graham Morant, 69, counselled and aided his wife to take her life. He had denied both charges.

South Africa: Euthanasia Society President Charged with Murder of Disabled Man

EUTHANASIA-FREE NZ: MEDIA RELEASE

Click here to view.

Sean Davison, a New Zealand citizen who was convicted of assisted suicide in Dunedin, appeared in a South African court on Wednesday on a murder charge.

The charge is in relation to the death of Anrich Burger, 53, who became a quadriplegic after a motor vehicle accident in 2005. He was not terminally ill.

The Letter the Kansas City Star Refused to Print

Wrong on Suicide

Dear Editor

I am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the US and in other countries. 

David Grube’s guest commentary claims that Oregon’s suicide rates “overall have gone down ... since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997.” This claim is false.

Australia: Man pleads not guilty to assisting his wife's suicide, as prosecutors claim he did so to access her life insurance

By Melanie Vujkovic, click here to view original article

A 69-year-old man who has pleaded not guilty to assisting his wife to kill herself in 2014 had "1.4 million reasons" to intentionally help her end her life because she had three life insurance policies, a court has heard.

Graham Robert Morant is on trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on two counts, including one of counselling and one of aiding Jennifer Morant, 56, to kill herself.

Roger Foley Challenges Canada's Euthanasia Law

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/denied-assisted-life-by-hospital-ontario-man-is-offered-death-instead-lawsuit

An Ontario hospital that wants to discharge a suicidal man [Roger Foley] with a crippling brain disease threatened to start charging him $1,800 a day, and suggested his other options included medically assisted death [non-voluntary euthanasia], according to a new lawsuit.

It also claims Canada’s new assisted dying laws are unconstitutional and should be struck down because they do not require doctors “to even try to help relieve intolerable suffering” before offering to kill a terminally ill patient.

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in the Medicare Hospice Program Is ‘Repellent’

Joanne M. Chiedi

https://www.statnews.com/2018/08/28/medicare-hospice-fraud-waste-abuse/

By Joanne M. Chiedi

Like many Americans, I have a story about hospice care for a loved one. When my father was dying from complications of dementia and diabetes, hospice caregivers sat with him, provided pain relief, and helped him be comfortable. They also gave my mother peace of mind that her beloved husband was receiving kind attention in his final weeks. To this day, she refers to those hospice workers as angels.

Sadly, not every family’s story is a positive one.

Mexico Addresses Euthanasia

To read the entire article, click here

The Supreme Court has endorsed the right of Mexico City residents to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as established by the city’s constitution.

Eight of 11 judges ruled yesterday that the Constitutional Assembly of Mexico City, a body formed to create a new constitution for the capital, had not encroached on federal jurisdiction by including an article enshrining the right to use medicinal marijuana....

The Supreme Court also endorsed a range of other articles in the city’s constitution against which challenges had been filed, including the right to die with dignity, the right of access to water, the right to sexuality, the right for the local government to enter into agreements with international entities and the right for migrants not to be criminalized while in the capital regardless of their legal status.

With regard to the dignified death provision, the PGR argued that it effectively allowed for euthanasia and assisted suicide, which are prohibited under federal law and whose regulation is the exclusive domain of the federal government.

Northwest Montana Fair: Thank You to Our Volunteers!

Thank you to our volunteers who braved the smoke to join us at the 2018 Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell.

We educated the public about problems with legalization, including how people with years to live are encouraged to throw away their lives, and fatal elder abuse.

Thanks especially, to everyone who worked the table, including Lucinda Hardy of Columbia Falls, Gail Bell of Bozeman and Linda Clark of Seattle. To read Lucinda's story, click here. To read Gail's story, click here.

We also heard from people who were considering assisted suicide for themselves. Two were older men who came to the booth about fifteen minutes apart. After learning more about the process, each signed our petition to the legislature to clarify the law, that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana.

Thank you again to everyone who made this event possible. Your time and monetary donations are invaluable.

Margaret Dore, President
Choice is an Illusion

Legal Assisted Suicide Encourages Other Suicide

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article216928250.html

I am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a 501(c)(4) non-profit. Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the United States and in other countries.

David Grube’s Aug. 5 guest commentary in The Star said Oregon’s suicide rates “overall have gone down ... since its Death with Dignity Act [legalizing assisted suicide] went into effect in 1997.” I disagree with this claim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Vital Signs” website, Oregon’s suicide rate went up 28.2 percent from 1999 to 2016. 

Legal assisted suicide encourages other suicide. Don’t be fooled.*

Australia Defeats Euthanasia

"[T]he title of their legislation
gave the game away."

By Denis Strangman

In a narrow vote the Australian Senate today (Thursday) defeated by 36-34 a move to permit the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to enact laws on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Most of the Australian media was campaigning for the pro-euthanasia move. A lot of work went on in the background with the group established by Paul Russell (Hope) encouraging a joint-Party meeting for Senators and staff to hear from two experienced Doctors from Victoria.

Hey Kansas City Star: Oregon’s Suicide Rate Went Up 28.2%, Not Down! Correct This Error.

On August 4, 2018, the Kansas City Star published this false statement:

"National and state level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System suggest that suicide rates have varied slightly, but overall have gone down in Oregon since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997."

Per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Oregon’s suicide rate WENT UP, NOT DOWN, 28.2 %

Prosecutors argue why Michelle Carter's texting suicide conviction should not be overturned

Michelle Carter

To view full article, click here

Bristol County Prosecutors have filed their response to the appeal of Michelle Carter, arguing that the Plainville woman was rightfully convicted of involuntary manslaughter for pressuring her boyfriend Conrad Roy III into killing himself.

Roy died in 2014 after he turned on a gas-powered water pump in his truck and allowed the cabin to fill with carbon monoxide, following a lengthy battle with depression.

But police found text messages on Carter's phone that led them to believe it was no simple suicide.

The Doctor Ordered Her Own Family to Physically Hold her Down

https://www.dailywire.com/news/34014/netherlands-elderly-woman-forcibly-euthanized-paul-bois

By Paul Bois, August 3, 2018

One inherent consequence that so-called "Death with Dignity" advocates seem to ignore is the possibility that doctors and family members will pressure people into euthanasia or assisted suicide for convenience.

A case in the Netherlands takes that one step further, as an elderly woman was euthanized against her will by family members eager to move on with their lives.

How to Help Those Considering Suicide

By Anna Kucirkova 

We are facing a suicide epidemic in the United States, and throughout the world.

Suicide rates are up by 30 percent across the nation since 1999, according to a recent report by federal health officials. That increase comes even as the CDC notes that only about half the people who died by suicide had a known mental health condition, which has long been considered the ‘cause’ of suicide.

These facts are critical for all of us to understand, as they point to the silent and misunderstood nature of suicide, which often falls under the unfortunate umbrella term ‘mental illness.’ 

An Open Letter to the Center for Disease Control

Thank you for your press release regarding increased suicide rates in the US. Please consider the following factors not mentioned in the release.

1. The release discusses rising suicide rates begining in 1999. Oregon's assisted suicide law, legitimizing and encouraging suicide, had gone into effect just two years prior, in late 1997.

Local media then glorified assisted suicide deaths, for example, of Lovelle Svart, who was filmed taking the lethal dose and then dying at a suicide party. Indeed, local media encouraged readers to both listen and watch as Ms. Svart drank the lethal dose.

Quick Facts About New York State Euthanasia Bills (Paulin, Savino)

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a pdf version, click here.

1.  Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide

The bills, A. 2383-A & S. 3151-A, are titled “Medical Aid in Dying.” This is a traditional euphemism for active euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. The bills seek to legalize these practices.

2.  Definitions (Traditional)

“Assisted suicide” occurs when a person provides the means or information for another person to commit suicide, for example, by providing a rope or lethal drug. If the assisting person is a

physician, a more precise term is “physician-assisted suicide.”

“Euthanasia” is the direct administration of a lethal agent to cause another person’s death. Euthanasia is also known as mercy killing.

California Judge Rejects Motion to Overturn Decision Invalidating Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Law

Judge Daniel Ottolia has rejected a motion to vacate his decision overturning the deceptively named, "End of Life Options Act," which had legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia. 

The act remains null and void. For more information, click here  

Portugal Euthanasia Bill Defeated

"Euthanasia is a recipe
for elder abuse."

Portugal’s parliament rejected on Tuesday a bill that would have legalized euthanasia. The measure lost 115 to 110, with 4 abstentions, in the 230 seat parliament

Prior to the vote, hundreds of people protested in front of the parliament building, carrying placards, including "Euthanasia is a recipe for elder abuse."

California: Heirs Risk Forfeited Inheritance & Murder Charge If They Kill Victims Under Void Act

By Margaret  Dore, Esq.

In California, a person commits murder in the first degree via "willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing."[1] California also has "slayer statutes," providing that murderers shall not inherit from their victims. As an example, California's Probate Code states:

(a) A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any of the following:

(1) Any property, interest, or benefit under a will of the decedent, or a trust created by or for the benefit of the decedent or in which the decedent has an interest ...  [2] 

Judgment Entered Declaring Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Law Unconstitutional & Prospectively Prohibiting Use

Alexandra Snyder, Esq.

Yesterday, Riverside County Judge Daniel A. Ottolia entered judgment declaring California's assisted suicide/euthanasia law void as unconstitutional. The judgment states:

The Court held the End of Life Option Act ("Act") was passed by a special session of the Legislature in violation of Article IV § 3(b) of the California Constitution because the Act is not encompassed by any "reasonable construction" of the Proclamation granting the special session the authority to legislate. The Court therefore held that the Act was void as unconstitutional.

California Assisted Suicide Law Is Unconstitutional; Decision Upheld by Appeals Court

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Last week, Riverside Superior Court Judge, Daniel Ottolia, overturned California's assisted suicide law when he ruled that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority [when enacting it]

California passed the state's assisted suicide law in a special health care funding session after the legislature failed to pass the assisted suicide bill in its normal session.

Judge Ottolia, held that "the End of Life Option Act [legalizing assisted suicide] does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services," and that it "is not a matter of health care funding."

New Zealand Euthanasia Bill Delayed by Mass Replies

Raymond Hoa, MP

An unprecedented surge in public submissions has seen a bill legalising voluntary [and non-voluntary] euthanasia in New Zealand pushed back until next year.

SBS News - An unprecedented outpouring of feedback about a bill legalising euthanasia in New Zealand has seen a potential law change delayed.

The parliamentary committee considering the controversial End of Life Change Bill - which would give people with "a terminal illness or a grievous and irremediable medical condition" the option of assisted dying - has received more than 35,000 submissions already.

Assisted Suicide Bill Defeated in Guernsey

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Guernsey parliament, today, defeated a proposal to legalize assisted suicide in the British Island state by a vote of 24 to 14.
This is incredible news considering the resources that the assisted suicide lobby invested into passing assisted suicide in Guernsey, that they viewed as a possible "opening" to the legalization of assisted suicide in the UK.

A coalition of groups formed to defeat the bill included disability rights groups - Not Dead Yet UK, and the Guernsey Disability Alliance, also the British Medical Association, and the Care Not Killing Alliance in the UK. 

Finland Slashes Citizens' 'Dying With Dignity' Initiative for Euthanasia

A citizens' initiative on "active death help" or euthanasia has been overwhelmingly rejected by the Finnish parliament.

The vote was 128 to 60.  For more information, click here.

Judge Rules California Assisted Suicide Law Unconstitutional

NAPA, Calif.,  Life Legal  — A California judge overturned the state’s assisted suicide law this morning, ruling that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority when it enacted the End of Life Option Act.

The Act’s sponsors introduced the bill in a special session of the legislature convened by Governor Jerry Brown to address Medicaid funding shortfalls, services for the disabled, and in-home health support services.

Margaret Dore Testifies

Margaret Dore, testifying against Bill A.2383-A, seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State. For more information, see Dore's bill analysis, at these links:  memo and appendix

Margaret Dore Testifies Against New York Bill Seeking to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

NEW YORK CITY - Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, issued the following statement in connection with her testimony today before the New York Assembly Health Committee in opposition to Bill A.2383-A.

Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

“The bill is sold as ‘aid in dying,’ which is a traditional euphemism for assisted suicide and euthanasia,” said Dore. “The term is also misleading in the context of the bill, which is not limited to dying people.”

Rhode Island Bill Will Create the Perfect Crime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

(206) 697-1217 

Providence, RI -- Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide legalization efforts in many states, including Rhode Island, made the following statement in connection with last night's hearing on a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state.  (Bill H 7297) 

"There is a bill pending before the Rhode Island House of Representatives, which seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined," said Dore. “The bill seeks to legalize these practices for people with years, even decades, to live.”

“The bill is sold as assuring patient choice and control. But when you look at what the bill actually says and does, the bill is a recipe for elder abuse.” Dore explained, "The patient's heir, who will financially benefit from the patient’s death, is allowed to actively participate in signing the patient up for the lethal dose. After that, no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. If the patient objected or even struggled, who would know? The bill will create the perfect crime.”

New Jersey Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dore: "The bill seeks to legalize ‘aid in dying,’ a traditional euphemism for euthanasia.”

“The bill is sold as assuring individual choice and control. The bill is instead stacked against the individual and a recipe for elder abuse.”

Contact: Margaret Dore
margaretdore@margaretdore.com
(206) 697-1217

Trenton, NJ – Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide/euthanasia legalization efforts in many states and now New Jersey, made the following statement in connection with today’s legislative hearing on a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state. (A 1504, hearing Monday, 03/12/16, noon).

New York Debate: Thank you Dawn Eskew and Everyone Else Who Came and Contributed

Dawn Eskew

Thank you to Dawn Eskew and everyone else who helped put on yesterday's debate. 

We had a great turnout and Dawn as the moderator, kept everyone in check, including me.

We had a number of people who came a long way, including Alex Shadenberg from Ontario Canada and Kate Menzia from Missoula Montana

It was also very interesting getting feedback from people on the other side.  

Thank you to everyone who donated their time or money to make the event possible. Donations are still needed to cover expenses and to move forward with future events. 

To make a tax deductible donation, please click here,

To make a non tax deductible donation for political advocacy, please click here.

Thanks again!

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA, President

Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed 

to assisted suicide and euthanasia, worldwide

www.margaretdore.org

www.choiceillusion.org

This Saturday, Register Now, Seats Limited!

New Hampshire: Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Study Bill Rejected for Now

Senator Donna
 Soucy, Esq.

By Ellen Kolb*

SB 490 was a gateway to assisted suicide, and the Senate just slammed it shut for now

On a 12-10 vote, the New Hampshire Senate has killed a bill that would have paved the way for assisted suicide. I did not see that result coming. Thank-yous are in order, including one I didn’t think I’d ever be writing.

Voting “inexpedient to legislate,” sending the bill into the trash heap: Senators Bob Giuda, James Gray, Harold French, Ruth Ward, Gary Daniels, Kevin Avard, John Reagan, Donna Soucy, Regina Birdsell, Chuck Morse, William Gannon, and Dan Innis. If any one of them had voted differently, today’s outcome would have been different.

Utah: House Passes Bill Criminalizing Assisted Suicide

Rep Michael McKell

Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune 

The Utah House passed a bill Tuesday that would criminalize helping someone commit suicide — despite some concern from lawmakers that the bill could unintentionally target physicians or family members of terminally ill patients.

Rep. Michael McKell, R-Spanish Fork, has sponsored House Bill 86, which would amend Utah’s manslaughter statute to include assisted suicide. This means a person would be guilty of a second-degree felony — which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison — if prosecutors can prove he or she provided “the physical means” for someone to commit suicide.

"Prescribe or Refer" Is Anti-Patient: Doctors Are Not Allowed to Use Their Best Judgment for Individual Patients (No More Jeanette Halls)

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

By Margaret Dore Esq., MBA - updated 05/12/18

A Wisconsin bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide, requires the patient's attending physician to "prescribe or refer" i.e., to write a lethal prescription for the purpose of killing the patient, or to make an effective referral to another physician, who will do it.

The bill, AB 216, also says that the attending physician's failure to comply is "unprofessional conduct" such that the physician would be subject to discipline. The bill states:

[F]ailure of an attending physician to fulfill a request for medication [the lethal dose] constitutes unprofessional conduct if the attending physician refuses or fails to make a good faith attempt to transfer the requester's care and treatment to another physician who will act as attending physician under this chapter and fulfill the request for medication. (Emphasis added).*

A significance of prescribe or refer is that it's anti-patient, by not allowing doctors to use their best judgment for individual patients.

Vermont Report on Assisted Suicide (and Euthanasia)

From True Dignity Vermont

On January 15, 2018, the Vermont Department of Health presented its first report to the legislature and public on the implementation of the state’s physician assisted suicide [and euthanasia] law.  The legislature had passed the law, Act 39, in 2013 and replaced it in 2015 with Act 27, which maintains Act 39 under “Oregon-style” regulations, including a requirement for biennial reporting.

The law has been in effect for four years, and the current report covers all of them.

Join Us For An Exciting Event

Saturday March 3rd, 2018

Doors Open 12:00pm  | Event 12:30pm

One hour debate followed by 15 minute Q&A

Complimentary Refreshments

Tickets are $10
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/euthanasia-or-aid-in-dying-you-decide-tickets-41520189003

Hofstra University Club, 225 Hofstra Blvd, Hempstead, NY 11550

To print an event flyer Click Here

For more information: 631-487-7578

Delaware: Death Certificate Falsification Requires Opposition to HB 160

Kirk Allison, PhD

Dear Legislators:

I directed the Program in Human Rights and Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health from 2006-2016 and am a past chair of the American Public Health Association's Ethics Special Primary Interest Group (now Ethics Section).

While working on my dissertation I was a visiting preceptor (research rotation) at the Hennepin County (Minnesota) Medical Examiner's Office. It was greatly impressed upon me the need for scientific accuracy in the medico-legal documentations of death.

Victoria's Euthanasia Bill Is Not What it Was Promised to Be

Fabian Stahle has issued a thoughtful and detailed report regarding Oregon's six months of live criteria, which is determined in practice to include people with years to live, and not necessarily on a voluntary basis.

The material below is on page 4 of his report, regarding Victoria, which recently enacted a similar standard. I urge readers to also consider his entire report at this link.