MN Euthanasia Bills: "Patient Choice and Control Is a Big Fat Fib"

Golden Quadriga, Minnisota State Capitol

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

To view a pdf version, click here for the memo index, memo and appendix. For a handout, click here.

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 HF 1885 and SF 1572, which seek to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined.[2]

The bills are sold as a promotion of patient choice and control, which is not true: The bills are stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse.

The bills also apply to persons with years or decades to live. Passage will encourage such persons to throw away their lives. I urge you to reject HF 1885 and SF 1572.

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.

Hawaii Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Act Must Be Rejected

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/choice-illusion-president-margaret-dore-170000652.html

HONOLULU, Feb. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which is fighting assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization efforts throughout the United States, made the following statement in connection with an assisted suicide/euthanasia bill set for hearing tomorrow in the Hawaii State Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor. The bill is SB 1129 S.D. 1.

“The bill seeks to pass a proposed act legalizing assisted suicide and allowing euthanasia,” said Dore. “If enacted, the act will apply to people with years or decades to live. The act is a recipe for elder abuse, especially for people with money, meaning the middle class and above in the inheritance situation.”

Montana Resolution Addresses "Mistaken Assumption That Suicide Is a Rational Response to Disability"

Representative Brad Tschida

Representative Brad Tschida has introduced Joint House Resolution No. 14 to include people with chronic health conditions in Montana's Strategic Suicide Prevention Plan for 2017.  A key paragraph notes: 

Until recently, the Montana Strategic Suicide Prevention Plan was considering assisted suicide of the terminally ill as a separate issue from suicide prevention. The active disability community in Montana, however, has been vocal on the need for suicide prevention services for individuals with disabilities. . . . . Individuals with disabilities have a right to responsive suicide prevention services. 

There is a specific recommendation to "address . . . the mistaken assumption that suicide is a rational response to disability."

Hawaii: Dore Testimony Opposing SB 1129 SD 1 (No Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia)

To Chairman Keith-Agaran and members of the Committee:

As some of you know, I am an attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal.  Our law is based on a law in Oregon.  Both laws are similar to the proposed act in SB 1129 SD 1.

Attached please find a memo with supporting documentation opposing the act. The act seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and allow euthanasia. My memo and documentation can also be viewed at these links: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/dore-new-memo-sb-1129.pdf and https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/appendix-new-memo-sb-1129.pdf

The act will encourage people with years or decades to live to throw away their lives.  (See memo, pp 3-6). The act is a recipe for elder abuse, especially for those in the middle class and above in the inheritance situation. (Id., pp. 8-9). The act creates the perfect crime in which the death is allowed to occur in private, without oversight, and the death certificate gives perpetrators a "stay out of jail free card."  (Id., pp. 10-13).  

Amended Hawaii Bill Creates the Perfect Crime

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Hawaii Senate Chamber

Hawaii's pending act seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide and allow euthanasia as long as actions are taken in “accordance” with the act, applies to people with years or decades to live. 

The act, contained in SB 1129 SD 1, is a recipe for elder abuse, especially in the inheritance situation for persons middle class and above.

To view a supporting memo, click here and here. To go to Choice Illusion Hawaii, click here