Dore Memoradum and Legal Analysis Opposing Nevada Bill

By Margaret Dore. To view a pdf version, click here, here and here.

I.  INTRODUCTION

Jeanette Hall

I am an attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide  is legal.[1] Our law is based on a similar law in Oregon.  Both laws are similar to the proposed bill, SB 261.[2]

The proposed bill seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined.  The bill sells these practices as a promotion of self-determination.  The bill is instead stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse.

The bill applies to persons with years or decades to live.  Passage will encourage people with years or decades to live to throw away their lives.  I urge you to vote “No” on SB 261.

Nevada Bill: "Assisting Persons Can Have Their Own Agenda"

Margaret Dore

http://www.ktvn.com/story/35138314/right-to-die-bill-still-alive-in-legislature

Margaret Dore, a lawyer in Washington state, said [that the Nevada] bill, SB 261] would have dire consequences. Besides encouraging people who may have years or decades yet to live to give up on life, it does not consider relatives or others who may pressure someone into voluntary suicide for nefarious reasons.

“Assisting persons can have their own agendas: an adult child wanting an inheritance; a financial predator seeking financial gain; or a doctor wanting to hide malpractice,” she said in a statement.

“The bill, if passed, will create he perfect crime,” she said.

Nevada Update: Hearing Cancelled

Today's hearing on SB 261, seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in Nevada, was suddenly cancelled, apparently due to a lack of support. The bill, however, is not dead and could still be heard.

To read about problems with the bill, click here.

Tell the Nevada Legislature to Say "No" to SB 261

* SB 261 seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally
defined.

* Passing the proposed bill will encourage people with years or decades to live to throw away their lives.

* The bill is sold as voluntary, but does not even have a provision requiring administration of the lethal dose to be voluntary.
 

* Assisting persons can have their own agendas: an adult child wanting an inheritance; a financial predator seeking financial gain; or a doctor wanting to hide malpractice.

Maine: Reject LD 347 & LD 1066

For legal analysis and back up documentation, click here and here. For a pdf handout version of this post, click here.

Highlights:

•  LD 347 & LD 1066 apply to people with years or decades to live.

• Enacting either bill will encourage people with years or decades to live to throw away their lives.

• The bills are sold as providing a voluntary patient choice, but don’t even have a requirement of  voluntariness or consent when the lethal dose is administered.

Alaska Bill 54: Bad Things Happen in the Dark

By Margaret K. Dore, Esq., for a pdf version, click here.

HB 54 legalizes physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined. The bill is based on a similar law in Oregon, which has a near complete lack of transparency.

If Alaska enacts HB 54 and follows Oregon practice, there will be a similar lack of transparency. The safely and welfare of individual patients will be unverifiable from Alaska State sources.

Assisted suicide/euthanasia laws "surrounded by a sea of propaganda"

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/03/30/editorial/letters/state-needs-leaders-to-manage-airports/

Hawaii Bill is misleading, lacks protections

I was relieved to see a state House committee vote to delay consideration of Senate Bill 1129 [, which seeks to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in Hawaii].

I attended the hearing at which [1129] was sold as completely voluntary, which isn’t true.

Hawaii Bill SB 1129 - “Choice” is a Big Fat Fib

Vote No on SB 1129 SD 2

No Assisted Suicide

No Euthanasia

Highlights:

• The act is sold as providing a voluntary patient choice, but doesn’t even have a requirement of  voluntariness, capability or consent when the lethal dose is administered. 

• People who ask about the act will lose their right to informed consent: They will lose the right to be told about alternatives for cure.

• The claim that self-administration is required is not true. The act says that a patient “may” self-administer the lethal dose. There is no language that administration “must” be by self-administration.

Washington State Update - informed decision bill has passed the Senate, is pending in the House

SB 5433 is a simple bill clarifying that persons considering assisted suicide under Washington State's Death with Dignity Act have a right to be told of their options for cure or to extend life. 

Passing the bill is consistent with how the Act was marketed to voters, as providing choice for the individual.

The bill has now passed the Washington State Senate and has been referred to the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness. 

When Euthanasia Becomes Murder

In the Netherlands an elderly woman suffering from dementia was held down against her protests as a lethal injection was administered by a doctor. In the days before her “euthanasia” she repeatedly said “I don’t want to die.” The doctor was cleared of wrongdoing.

http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/when-euthanasia-becomes-murder

By Barry Brownstein

In the Netherlands an elderly woman suffering from dementia was held down against her protests as a lethal injection was administered by a doctor. In the days before her “euthanasia” she repeatedly said “I don’t want to die.” The doctor was cleared of wrongdoing.

Another elderly woman in the Netherlands was euthanized due to her supposed “unhappiness” about living in a nursing home. This despite testimony from the staff that she was often “content and friendly.”

Assisters Can Have Their Own Agendas; Patient Choice Not Assured

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

People who assist a suicide or euthanasia can have their own agendas. In Oregon, there is the Thomas Middleton case, in which legal physician-assisted suicide was part of an elder abuse fraud.[1 & 2]

Consider also People v. Stuart where an adult child killed her parent under circumstances that “dovetail[ed]” with the child’s financial interests.[3] The Court stated:

[F]inancial considerations [are] an all too common motivation for killing someone.[4]

The Oregon Health Plan Steers Patients to Suicide: "Do You Want This to Be Your Choice?"

Kenneth Stevens, MD

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/03/01/editorial/letters/learn-lessons-of-oregons-law/

The Hawaii Legislature is considering legalizing assisted suicide (Senate Bill 1129 SD1). I am a doctor in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal.

In 2000, I had a cancer patient named Jeanette Hall who was adamant that she was going to use Oregon’s law. Without treatment, she had a prognosis of six months to a year to live, rendering her “eligible.” I convinced her to be treated instead. Today, 16 years later, she is thrilled to be alive.