Rhode Island, Providence Journal Article

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160323/both-sides-bring-painful-stories-to-end-of-life-debate

"This bill encourages people to throw away their lives"

By Jennifer Bogdan, Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Susanna Brown couldn't make it to the State House Wednesday night to testify against a bill that could allow her to end her own life. 

The 75-year-old North Scituate resident has breast cancer that has spread to her bones, and she's struggling with her latest chemotherapy treatment. So she sent her daughter, Julie Lamin, to tell lawmakers this:

"She insisted that I come and speak on her behalf because this bill insults the dignity of her life," Lamin said. "She wanted to tell you that her life is valuable until that last breath and that this bill really scares her ... because someone could say, 'Well you're going to be suffering, and we don't want you to suffer. You can end it early.'"

Rhode Island: Press Release

https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/press-release-03-22-161.pdf

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

Contact: Margaret Dore

(206) 697-1217

Providence, RI – Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide/euthanasia legalization efforts in many states and now Rhode Island, made the following statement in connection with tomorrow's legislative hearing on a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state.  (H 7659, hearing Wednesday, 3/23/16, Rise of the House).

"There is a bill pending before the Rhode Island House of Representatives, which seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined," said Dore.  "The bill describes these practices as 'hastening death,' but there is no requirement that a person be near death.  Indeed, ‘eligible’ persons may have years, even decades, to live.”

Dore said, "The bill is sold as assuring patient choice and control.  The bill is instead stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse.”  Dore elaborated, “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.  Even if the patient struggled, who would know?”  Dore concluded, “The bill creates the perfect crime.”

Minnesota Senator Withdraws Bill

This afternoon, Senator Chris Eaton withdrew SF 1880, which had sought to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in Minnesota.

Senator Eaton did not have the votes to pass the bill out of committee.

To view a legal/policy memo analyzing the bill, click here.  To view the memo's attachments, click here.

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Minnesota: Dore Memo Opposing Assisted-Suicide/Euthanasia Bill

Intro Re Minnesota Bill SF 1880:

The proposed bill seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined. The bill calls these practices, “aid in dying.” The bill does not, however, require that a patient be dying. Indeed, “eligible” patients may have years or even decades to live.

The bill also legalizes undue influence as that term is traditionally defined. The bill is otherwise stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse. I urge you to vote “No” on SF 1880. Don’t be fooled.

To view the full memo, click here.  To view the attachments, click here.

Assisted Suicide Proponents Wilt After Tough Questioning by Committee

 http://stopassistedsuicidemd.org/assisted-suicide-proponents-wilt-after-tough-questioning-by-committee/

From Stop Assisted Suicide Maryland

Margaret Dore, Esq.

Posted on February 26, 2016

(Annopolis MD) Proponents of physician-assisted suicide struggled to answer the tough questions thrown at them at yesterday’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing on SB 418. The Committee met late into the night with Senators raising significant concerns with the bill and its lack of protections.

The message from proponents, led by national group Compassion & Choices, was that any protections in the law would stall a patient’s ability to get a lethal prescription from their physician. And questions surrounding these increased protections continuously baffled witnesses. There is nothing in this bill that would require a mental health screening, or ensure a physician is present at the time the lethal dose is taken. Proponents’ response to these concerns is that the Maryland healthcare system can’t support these types of mandates.  This is a weak excuse when it comes to protecting our most vulnerable populations who will be at risk if this bill is passed.

In fact, across the board proponents neglect to mention the issues in this legislation that would put our most vulnerable populations at risk. One witness in support of the bill, even referred to the disabled community’s concerns surrounding abuse and coercion of the vulnerable as irresponsible. ... This is a community that has consistently faced discrimination in healthcare laws. To not consider the threat to this community is irresponsible.

Powerful testimony was presented by an elder law attorney [Margaret Dore] who raised the significant potential for elder abuse surrounding this legislation.* She stated that in her experience, it is very common that family members are coercing elderly relatives for financial reasons. In confusing answers, proponents pushed back against protections that would disqualify witnesses who would benefit financially from a death, using the unacceptable excuse that it would leave family out of this process.

The Senate Committee brought some important questions to the table and it was clear that proponents were not prepared to answer. Maybe it’s because they know the physician assisted suicide bill in Maryland is indefensible.   

* To view Ms. Dore's written testimony, please see memo here; click here for the appendix. 

Maryland senator withdraws assisted suicide/euthanasia bill

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/03/maryland-right-to-die-measure-could-have-committee-vote/

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland senator has withdrawn a measure to allow terminally ill residents to legally end their lives with drugs prescribed by a doctor.

[The bill, SB 418, would have legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined]*

Sen. Ron Young, a Frederick County Democrat, said he withdrew the bill Thursday, when it became clear the measure did not have the votes in committee....

The bill stalled last year, but supporters hoped adding some safeguards would help.

Young says he doubts he will try again next year, because he says committee opponents are “just totally inflexible on it.” Opponents cited concerns that vulnerable people like the developmentally disabled could be pressured to end their lives.

*  See memo, pp. 1, 8-10; click here for the appendix. 

Breaking News: Nebraska Bill Voted Down!

A Nebraska Senator just wrote me:

Dear Ms. Dore,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with LB1056. The Judiciary Committee voted against letting this bill out of committee this afternoon.

Dore Opposition to Nebraska Bill Seeking to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

Dear Senator Seiler and Members of the Judiciary Committee,

The Introducer's Statement of Intent says that the bill is intended for dying people "when death is certain and imminent." This is not true. The bill, in fact, applies to people with years, even decades, to live. Please see the memo at this link: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/nebraska-partial-memo-years-to-live.pdf

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, P.S.
Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation
www.margaretdore.com
www.choiceillusion.org
1001 4th Avenue, Suite 4400
Seattle, WA 98154

Don't pretend it's not assisted suicide - at least

Editorial Board:
The bill "is a huge jump ...
setting up a system whose
abuse could literally mean
murder."                       

http://nypost.com/2016/02/15/dont-pretend-its-not-assisted-suicide-at-least/

Deceptive names for legislation are nothing new, but this takes the cake.

Introduced by Democrat Amy Paulin in the Assembly and Republican John Bonacic in the state Senate, the bill would make it easier for terminal New York patients to get doctors to give them fatal doses of drugs.

They call it an “aid in dying” bill, but “Assisted Suicide Enhancement Act” is more to the point.

Or “The Streamlining Euthanasia Act.”

Colorado Assisted Suicide Bills Are a Recipe for Elder Abuse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dore: "Even if you like the concept of assisted suicide and euthanasia, the proposed Colorado bills have it all wrong."

Contact: Margaret Dore (206) 697-1217

Denver, CO  --  Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide legalization efforts in many states and now Colorado, made the following statement in connection with legislative hearings being held today and tomorrow on bills seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state. 

"The bills, SB 16-025 and HB 16-1054, seek to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined," said Dore. "The bills are described as 'aid in dying,' but their reach is not limited to dying people. 'Eligible' persons may have years, even decades, to live."

Dore said, "The bills are a recipe for elder abuse. 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. There is no oversight over administration."  Dore elaborated, "No doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know? The bills create the perfect crime." 

"It gets worse," said Dore.  "The bills require the death certificate to be falsified to reflect a death by a terminal illness.  The significance is a loss of transparency as to the true cause of death and an inability to prosecute in the case of an outright murder for the money; the death, as a matter of law is a terminal illness."  

The Colorado bills seek to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia for people who are "terminal," which is defined as a doctor's prediction of less than six months to live. In real life, such persons can have years, even decades, to live.

"Doctors can be wrong about life expectancy, sometimes way wrong," Dore said. "This is due to actual mistakes: They evaluated another patient's test results. More typically, however, doctors are wrong because predicting life expectancy is not an exact science. A few years ago, I was met at the airport by a man who at age 18 had been diagnosed with ALS and given 3 to 5 years to live, at which time he was predicted to die by paralysis. The diagnosis had been confirmed by the Mayo Clinic. When he met me at the airport, he was 74 years old. The disease progression had stopped on its own."

"If the Colorado bills become law, there will be new lethal paths of elder abuse, which will be legally sanctioned and hidden from view," said Dore. "People with years, even decades to live, will be encouraged to throw away their lives. Even if you like the concept of assisted suicide and euthanasia, the proposed Colorado bills have it all wrong."

For back up documentation, please see below:.

1. Memo from Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA, to the Colorado Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee and to the Colorado House Judiciary Committee, January 30, 2016, available here: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/colorado-memo-01-30-16.pdf and here:
https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/colorado-memo-attachment_001.pdf

2.  Margaret K. Dore, "'Death with Dignity': What Do We Advise Our Clients?," King County Bar Association, Bar Bulletin, May 2009,https://www.kcba.org/newsevents/barbulletin/BView.aspx?Month=05&Year=2009&AID=article5.htm

3.  Nina Shapiro, "Terminal Uncertainty: Washington's new "Death With Dignity" law allows doctors to help people commit suicide-once they've determined that the patient has only six months to live. But what if they're wrong?" Seattle Weekly, 01/14/09, available at https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/terminal-uncertainty-w-o-ad.pdf

-00-

Assisted-suicide laws are a prescription for abuse

http://altamontenterprise.com/01212016/assisted-suicide-laws-are-prescription-abuse

To the Editor:

I was glad to see the letter by Oregon doctor Kenneth Stevens, describing how legalizing assisted suicide in Oregon has led to steerage to suicide by the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid).  ("No assisted suicide," Jan. 7, 2016).  I write to highlight another problem with legalization -- elder abuse.

I am a former three-term state representative in New Hampshire.  In 2014, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted down a similar law.  The vote was an overwhelming 3-to-1 defeat, 219 to 66.

At that time, the House of Representatives was controlled by the Democrats.  Many representatives who initially thought that they were for the bill, became uncomfortable when they studied it further.

Contrary to promoting "choice" for older people, assisted-suicide laws are a prescription for abuse.  They empower heirs and other predators to pressure and abuse older people to cut short their lives.

This is especially an issue when the older person has money.  There is no assisted suicide bill that you can write to correct this huge problem.  Don't be fooled.

Nancy Elliott

Merrimack, New Hampshire
Post date: January 21, 2016

New York State Legal/Policy Analysis

Below, please find a legal/policy analysis by attorney Margaret Dore opposing bills seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State. A hard copy can be viewed by clicking here; the appendix can be viewed by clicking here.  Please find a web version below.

I. INTRODUCTION

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 New York State bills, which seek to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined.[2]

The proposed bills are described as “aid in dying,” but their reach is not limited to dying people. “Eligible” persons may have years, even decades, to live. The bills are a recipe for elder abuse.  There are other problems.

I agree with proponents that assuring patient choice and control is paramount. The bills, however, are stacked against the patient. This is due to their actual language. Some of the words used do not have their normal meanings. I urge you to read the definitions and other provisions carefully. Don’t be fooled; please reject this measure.

New York State Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Bills Are a Recipe for Elder Abuse

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dore: "Even if you like the concept of assisted suicide and euthanasia, the proposed New York bills have it all wrong.”

Contact: Margaret Dore (206) 697-1217

Albany, NY -- Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide legalization efforts in many states and now New York State, made the following statement in connection with a legislative lobby day for proposed bills, which seek to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.

"There are bills pending before the New York State Legislature, which seek to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined," said Dore. "The bills are described as 'aid in dying,' but their reach is not limited to dying people. 'Eligible' persons may have years, even decades, to live."

Dore said, "The bills are a recipe for elder abuse. 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. There is no oversight over administration." Dore elaborated, "No doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know? The bills create the perfect crime."  

Dore Legal and Policy Analysis of New York State Bills

Today, attorney Margaret Dore released a legal and policy analysis opposing bills seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State, addressed to members of the Health Committees of the New York State Legislature.  Her analysis can be viewed by clicking here; back up documentation can be viewed by clicking here.  Please find the introduction below.

INTRODUCTION

I am an attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal. Our law is based on a similar law in Oregon. Both laws are similar to the proposed New York State bills, which seek to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined.

The proposed bills are described as “aid in dying,” but their reach is not limited to dying people. “Eligible” persons may have years, even decades, to live; the bills are a recipe for elder abuse. There are other problems.

I agree with proponents that assuring patient choice and control is paramount. The bills, however, are stacked against the patient. This is due to their actual language. Some of the words used do not have their normal meanings. I urge you to read the definitions and other provisions carefully. 

Don’t be fooled  . . . .

MP Albrecht condemns U.S. court ruling on teen’s suicide

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6213725-mp-albrecht-condemns-u-s-court-ruling-on-teen-s-suicide/
              

Waterloo Region Record

By Johanna Weidner

Nadia Kajouji embraced
by her father 

KITCHENER — Local MP Harold Albrecht criticized a U.S. court ruling that overturned the conviction of a man charged with encouraging a Brampton teen to take her own life.

William Melchert-Dinkel, a former nurse from Minnesota, was convicted in 2014 of attempting to assist the suicide of 18-year-old Nadia Kajouji, who died after jumping into the Rideau River in Ottawa in 2008.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday there wasn't enough evidence to uphold the conviction in the Carleton University student's death.

Quick Facts About Assisted Suicide

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a pdf version, please click here

1.  Assisted Suicide

Assisted suicide means that someone provides the means and/or information for another person to commit suicide. When a physician is involved, the practice is physician-assisted suicide.

2. The Oregon and Washington Laws

In Oregon, physician-assisted suicide was legalized in 1997 via a ballot measure. In Washington State, a similar law was passed by another ballot measure in 2008 and went into effect in 2009.

3.  Problems With Legalization

The Oregon and Washington laws are a recipe for elder abuse and encourage people with years to live to throw away their lives. In Oregon, there are documented cases of the Oregon Heath Plan (Medicaid) steering patients to physician-assisted suicide via coverage incentives. Oregon’s conventional suicide rate has increased with legalization of assisted suicide, which is consistent with a suicide contagion. Patients and families are traumatized.

The Oregon and Washington laws require the death certificate to be falsified to reflect a natural death via a terminal disease, as opposed to the actual cause of death, a lethal dose. The significance is a lack of transparency and an inability to take legal action against overreaching parties.

The Cost of Physician-Assisted Suicide.

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA*
Updated November 25, 2015 

It is often assumed that legalizing physician-assisted suicide will save states money. Don’t be so sure. In Oregon, legalization is correlated with an increase in other suicides, the cost of which is "enormous."

More Suicide

Oregon's law legalizing physician-assisted suicide went into effect “in late 1997.”[1] Since then, Oregon has reported a small, but steadily rising number of deaths.[2]

Oregon's other suicides, which are tracked separately, have also increased. Indeed, by 2000, Oregon's suicide rate for other suicides was "increasing significantly."[2] By 2007, Oregon's suicide rate for other suicides was 35% above the national average.[3] By 2010, Oregon's suicide rate for other suicides was 41% above the national average.[4]

The Financial Cost

The financial cost of these other suicides (and suicide attempts) is huge for Oregon, a smaller population state. The Oregon Health Authority states:

The cost of suicide is enormous. In 2010 alone, self-inflicted injury hospitalization charges exceeded 41 million dollars; and the estimate of total lifetime cost of suicide in Oregon was over 680 million dollars. (Footnotes omitted).[5]