West Virginia Voters Narrowly Approve Putting Medically Assisted Suicide Prohibition in Constitution

By: Lori Kersey - November 6, 2024 

West Virginia voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a constitutional amendment that adds a prohibition on medically assisted suicide to the state’s constitution. Amendment 1 passed with 50.5% of voters voting for the measure, and 49.5% opposing it, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. 

Medically assisted suicide is already illegal in West Virginia. 

The amendment adds to the bill of rights a line that says,

No person, physician, or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person.

It goes on to say that nothing in the section prohibits giving a prescription of medication to alleviate pain or discomfort, prohibit the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment, and nothing in the section prevents the state using capital punishment.

Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, [pictured above] championed the amendment, calling it a proactive measure to ensure that medically assisted suicide does not one day become legal in West Virginia. 

Diane Coleman, Leader of Not Dead Yet, has Died

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition *

It is very sad news to announce that the great Diane Coleman [pictured here] has died. Diane founded Not Dead Yet in 1996 and was the President and CEO of Not Dead Yet until her death. The fact that other Not Dead Yet organizations world-wide were founded in conjunction with Not Dead Yet in America proves that her activities had world-wide significance.

I have always had incredible respect for Diane's direction, understanding of the issues and her leadership skills. Diane led a group of people who differed greatly and yet she effectively enabled them to work together.

Not Dead Yet, under Diane's leadership, was the most effective organization in preventing the spread of assisted suicide in America.

Diane and Stephen Drake

Diane Coleman and Stephen Drake spoke at some of the earlier EPC [Euthanasia Prevention Coalition] conferences that Not Dead Yet co-sponsored.

Not Dead Yet [was] incredibly successful during the Massachusetts assisted suicide voter initiative in 2012, Diane worked with John Kelly to establish Second Thoughts Connecticut as the disability rights voice - voting NO on question 2. This decision was a decisive factor in the defeat of the assisted suicide voter initiative in 2012.

West Virginia: Prohibiting Assisted Suicide

By Curtis Johnson. Original publication 10/31/24.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The way you choose to deal with a terminal illness is on the ballot in West Virginia.

Lawmakers, in March proposed a state constitutional amendment to prohibit medically assisted suicide, also referred to as medical aid in dying and death with dignity.

WSAZ found assisted suicide is already against West Virginia law. So the station we reached out to a sponsor of the legislation, Kanawha County Del. Chris Pritt [pictured here].

“With a law already on the books that prohibits this, why pass an amendment?” asked WSAZ reporter Curtis Johnson.

“Things can happen at the drop of dime in any given legislative session, and what this does is it makes sure that we, to the extent that any laws would be attempted to be passed, this would put a brake on it,” Pritt replied.

West Virginia Voters to Decide on Medically Assisted Suicide Prohibition in Constitution

By Lori Kersey (pictured right)*

During the general election, West Virginians will decide whether the state constitution should prohibit physicians and other health care providers from helping a patient die. 

Medically assisted suicide is already illegal in the state. Amendment 1 would enshrine a “protection against medically assisted suicide” into the state’s constitution.

The amendment reads: 

No person, physician, or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person. 

Voting yes on the amendment would be a vote in favor of adding those words to the constitution. 

Idaho Health Board First in U.S. to Defy CDC and FDA by Removing COVID Vaccines From Clinics

By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., (pictured right). To view the original full length publication, click here.

Idaho’s Southwest District Health will no longer offer COVID-19 vaccines after its board voted 4-3 last week to pull the shots from the 30 locations where it provides healthcare services.

“It’s the first health agency in America to do that,” Laura Demaray, a Southwest Idaho resident and nurse who attended the Oct. 22 vote, told The Defender. 

Miste Karlfeldt, executive director of Health Freedom Idaho, agreed that the board’s vote is historic. “It’s thrilling,” she told The Defender.

The board’s vote came after it received about 300 public comments urging the district, which encompasses six counties, to stop promoting the shots. 

Illinois: Don't Support Assisted Suicide

By Pam Heavens

https://thetimesweekly.com/2024/10/do-not-support-legalizing-physician-assisted-suicide/

The Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill that will legalize physician-assisted suicide. I am a 68-year-old Disabled woman and proud member of “Stop Assisted Suicide Illinois Coalition”, which vehemently opposes this bill. This organization includes representatives from diverse communities including disability rights, patients’ rights, health care, hospice care, human rights, senior rights, veterans, and various faith- based advocacy organizations. All parties are committed to keeping Illinois a physician-assisted suicide free state.

Ontario's Euthanasia Report: The Poor and Those Who Lack Housing Are Most at Risk

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Ontario MAiD Death Review report has three parts (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3).

Janet Eastman has written an excellent commentary on the report of the Ontario Chief Coroner concerning the experience with euthanasia in Ontario, Canada's largest province. Eastman's article was published in The Telegraph on October 17, 2024. 

Eastman focuses on the Coroner's report in relation to the upcoming assisted dying debate in the UK. Eastman writes:

Assisted dying is used by patients in Canada because they are poor and lack housing, a major report has found.

The first official report into assisted dying deaths in Ontario, which has been obtained by the Telegraph, found vulnerable people face “potential coercion” or “undue influence” to seek out the practice.

Sixteen experts across medicine, nursing and law identified people whose lives may have been wrongly terminated at the hands of the state, where the action is called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

Insight into the Cautionary Tale of Canada's Euthanasia Regime

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Canada 

On October 9, 2024, The European Conservative published an interview by Jonathon Van Maren with Alexander Raikin [pictured right]. Raikin has recently published a research article titled: "The Rise of Euthanasia in Canada: From Exceptional to Routine."

First question: In your view, why did Canada’s euthanasia regime go off the rails much sooner than other jurisdictions that have legalized euthanasia/assisted suicide? 

Vote YES on West Virginia Amendment 1 for Protection From Assisted Suicide.

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

West Virginia voters need to Vote YES on Amendment 1 this election. Amendment 1 approves a constitutional amendment to prohibit assisted suicide, euthanasia and mercy killing in West Virginia.

West Virginia Amendment 1 states:

A "yes" vote supports amending the West Virginia Constitution to prohibit people from participating in "the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person."

A "no" vote opposes amending the West Virginia Constitution to prohibit people from participating in "the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person."

Vote YES.

French Bill Debated

From France, a bit out of date, but here it is....

Debate is beginning at the National Assembly on French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed end-of-life bill. [Macron pictured at right].

[The bill] would create a legal framework for the terminally ill to get help to die; a highly contentious issue.

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/entre-nous/20241008-french-end-of-life-bill-debated-by-mps

Press Release: Disability Rights Coalition Challenges Discriminatory Sections of Canada’s Assisted Dying Law in Court

Krista Carr pictured left and quoted below.  

A coalition of disability rights organizations and two personally affected individuals have filed a Charter challenge with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. They oppose Track 2 of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law, which provides assisted suicide to people with a disability who are not dying, or whose death is not “reasonably foreseeable.”

The coalition includes national disability organizations Inclusion Canada, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), Indigenous Disability Canada (IDC/BCANDS), and DAWN Canada, as well as two individuals who have been harmed by Track 2 MAiD.

The organizations assert that Track 2 MAiD has resulted in premature deaths and an increase in discrimination and stigma towards people with disabilities across the country. While they are not challenging MAiD Track 1 in this case, they recognize that it too can pose significant problems for people with disabilities. Track 2 MAiD has had a direct negative impact on the lives of people with disabilities.

Opinion: Michigan Right-to-Die Legislation Must Consider Concerns of African Americans

In the 1990s, Royal Oak’s Dr. Jack Kevorkian put a national spotlight on the debate over the right of terminally ill patients to die with the aid of a physician. As Democrats reclaim their majority in the state Legislature, Michigan may be at the epicenter of this conversation again. 

Last fall, a group of Democrats introduced the Michigan Death With Dignity Act, which would legalize physician-assisted dying, also known as medical aid in dying [, assisted suicide and euthanasia].

Patients with a terminal condition, expected to die within six months, would be able to request that a participating doctor write them a prescription for drugs that, when self-administered and ingested, would allow the patient to die on the date of their choosing.

Terri Laws [pictured here] is an associate professor of African and African American studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn:

Many Michiganders will see this legislation as reasonable and compassionate. To others, however, often people of color, this legislation is more complicated.

Some fear doctors and insurance companies may deny them lifesaving treatments and steer them toward assisted suicide instead. Others are concerned that legalization will normalize this type of death as the “correct” way to approach the end of life, when their cultural beliefs and practices tell them otherwise.

Delaware General Assembly Will Not Override Governor's Veto

Amanda Fries, Delaware News Journal

The Delaware General Assembly will not hold a special session to override Gov. John Carney’s recent veto of a bill that would have given terminally ill Delawareans’ end-of-life options. [Carney pictured right]

House Speaker Valerie Longhurst said Friday that she remains supportive of House Bill 140 but decided not to call a special session because neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives have the votes necessary to override the veto. 

*Photo by Benjamin Chambers/Delaware News Journal

Delaware Lawmaker & Former Insurance Agent Concerned About Adult Children

One of the reasons Delaware Governor John Carney gave for vetoing HB 140 is that he did not believe that a consensus had been reached on this issue. Carney noted that the legislation was passed by "just one vote."

A different argument was presented by State Rep. Rich Collins [pictured left], who has been a vocal opponent of the bill, citing concerns that it could lead to seniors being coerced into prematurely ending their lives. Collins stated:

"I was an insurance agent for 37 years, and I sold life insurance and investments,” he told his colleagues in the chamber. “I had situations during my career where…the children of an older person made it clear they wanted their parents to go [die] because of the money. I have a lot of concerns about some people’s motives.”

Delaware Governor Vetoes Medical-Aid-in-Dying Legislation; Discussion Begins of Possible Override

By Mark Fowser

Click here to view the entire article as published.

Governor John Carney Friday vetoed legislation that would have allowed people with a terminal illness who are able to make sound decisions for themselves to get access to medication that would end their lives.

House Bill 140  received final legislative approval in the State Senate in late June. However, it underwent several amendments and the issue has been debated for years.

Carney said in his veto message that he recognizes that it is a deeply personal matter, and he appreciates the thoughtful debate. However, he said he is "fundamentally and morally opposed" to the idea of state law enabling someone to take their own life - "even under tragic and painful circumstances."

Carney's action returns the bill to the House of Representatives. His second term as governor ends in January 2025.