By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA
Five days ago, an op-ed appeared in the New York Post advocating for Congressional passage of the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act."[1] The Act has not been introduced in the current (116th) Congress.[2] There are, however, rumors that it will be or that passage will occur by packaging it with other legislation. With the appearance of the op-ed, the veracity of these rumors is well founded.
The Act was introduced in the last (115th) Congress as H.R. 1676 and S. 693. Its stated purpose was to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care. The Act easily passed the House on a voice vote.[3]
There was and is, however, a catch.
US euthanasia advocates promote "medical aid in dying" (euthanasia) as "palliative care."[4][5] 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."[6]
The significance is this: If the Act is passed into law and the above promotion 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 euthanasia in government funded centers throughout the US. The Act is a closet euthanasia bill.
On July 24, 2018, the House version was received in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Once there, no further action was taken prior to the close of the 115th Congress.
The proposed Act may or may not be moving, but prudence requires that members of the new Congress be immediately contacted to prevent passage. For contact information, go here and here. For additional arguments, click here, here and here.
Footnotes:
[1] Kristen Hanson, 'Assisted suicide' turns vulnerable people into disposable ones, New York Post, January 6, 2019 (last three paragraphs), at https://nypost.com/2019/01/06/assisted-suicide-turns-vulnerable-people-into-disposable-ones/
[2] As of January 10, 2019, see https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/#bystatus
[3] See https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1676/actions
[4] "Aid in Dying" is a traditional euphemism for euthanasia. See https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/738671
[5] Euthanasia promoter, Compassion & Choices, describes "aid in dying" (euthanasia") as palliative care. For examples, click this link: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/aid-palliative.pdf
[6] See Canadian article excerpt at https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/ca-aid-palliative.pdf