Good News Worth Remembering

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

In 2010, Kathryn Tucker, Director of Legal Affairs for Compassion & Choices, published an article in the Idaho Bar Association magazine, The Advocate. The article referred to assisted suicide and euthanasia as “aid in dying,” which Tucker claimed was legal in Idaho.  

The reaction to Tucker's claim was swift and brutal. In the next issue of The Advocate, there were nine letters against her. The writers included a former Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, Robert E. Bakes, who characterized her article as a “gross misunderstanding of Idaho law.” Another writer termed the article "malarkey."  

Terri Hancharick: Being Disabled Doesn’t Mean Death Is Better Than Life

https://notdeadyet.org/2023/09/terri-hancharick-being-disabled-doesnt-mean-death-is-better-than-life.html

Delaware’s Daily State News published an opinion piece by the Chair of the State Council for Persons with Disabilities who is also the parent of a person with developmental disabilities. In the article, Terri Hancharick stated in part:

Delaware’s assisted suicide bill is based on legislation in Oregon, where assisted suicide was first legalized. Data from Oregon provides insight into the top reasons that patients ask for assisted suicide. The top five reasons that people gave were the loss of autonomy, being unable to participate in activities that make life enjoyable, loss of dignity, loss of bodily functions and becoming a burden on family, friends and caregivers. These reasons are all disability-related. Contrary to popular belief, pain does not even make it into the top reasons people give to justify their application for assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg: "Canada's Life Expectancy Rate Drops; Euthanasia Is One of the Reasons"

Canada's life expectancy rate has dropped three years in a row from the average Canadian dying at the age of 82.3 years in 2019 to 81.3 years in 2022. Much of the news coverage blaimed the shorter life span on Covid 19 deaths and the Canadian Press reported that:

An increase in deaths among younger people last year was attributable in part to deaths under investigation by a coroner or medical examiner, which typically include suicides, homicides and drug toxicity deaths.

Further to that, the Canadian Press reported:

New Brunswick saw the biggest decline in life expectancy among provinces, dropping more than a year to 79.8 years from 80.9 in 2021, the report said. Saskatchewan's life expectancy has fallen the most over the past three years combined, dropping a full two years to 78.5 in 2022 from 80.5 in 2019. Prince Edward Island was not included in the yearly data breakdowns by province.

Health Columnist Andre Picard was published by the Globe and Mail on December 5 as stating:

A one-year loss in life expectancy may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It’s only the second time this sharp a drop has happened in Canada in the past century. In fact, life expectancy has been climbing steadily for decades: 71 in 1960, 75 in 1980, 79 in 2000, and 82.3 in 2019. Life expectancy is an oft-misunderstood measure. It’s not so much a prediction of how long an individual can expect to live, but rather a crude measure of a country’s health, the only real measure of overall population health we have.

To read Schadenberg's article as originally published, please click here: https://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2023/12/canadians-life-expectancy-drops-three.html

Proposed Delaware Act (HB 140) Is Unconstitutional

By Margaret K. Dore, Esq.

Delaware's Constitution has two rules to determine the constitutionality
of a legislative enactment:  (1) the single subject rule; and (2) the object in title rule. In order for a legislative enactment to be constitutional, there must be compliance with both rules. 

Here, the proposed Act’s title is: “The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law." The title thereby implies that the Act is "optional," meaning "left to one's choice." 

On close examination, however, the Act has no enforcement mechanism to ensure that the Act is voluntary. Involuntary and non-voluntary death are allowed via the Act. 

The Act, as proposed, is therefore unconstitutional. The Act cannot be legally enacted via its present title.

Supreme Court of New Jersey: No Word Yet

 On June 6, 2023, attorney Margaret Dore filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of New Jersey, seeking to overturn Petro v Platkin, 472 N.J. Super. 536, 277 A.3d 480 (2022). Dore's brief also supports the petitioners, including Dr. Joseph Glassman, MD, pictured here. 

Dore and the petitioners seek to overturn New Jersey's Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, as unconstitutional. The Act legalized aid in dying, previously known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

The Act allows these practices on both a voluntary and involuntary basis. The Supreme Court has not ruled as to whether it will take the case. The case was previously titled Glassman v. Grewal and also Petro v Grewal.

Florida's Surgeon General Urges Americans to Refuse to Follow New Mask Mandates

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/floridas-surgeon-general-urges-residents-refuse-new-mask/

by David Greyson

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is urging people to refuse to follow
any new mask mandates as schools slowly try to reinstate Covid policies.

On Thursday Ladapo suggested that people should refuse to participate.

"What do you call re-imposing mask policies that have been proven
ineffective or restarting lockdowns that are known to cause harm?" Joseph
Ladapo said in a tweet. "You don't call it sanity."

"These terrible policies only work with your cooperation. How about
refusing to participate..." he added.

New Jersey Medical Aid in Dying Act Is Unconstitutional

Click this link to view Margaret Dore's amicus brief as filed on June 6, 2023. The version below has been reformatted to accommodate this site.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Amicus Curiae Margaret Dore, who argued the cause below in Petro v. Platkin, 472 N.J. Super. 536, 277 A.3d 480 (2022), seeks to overturn the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act as unconstitutional. 

The case was initially filed as Glassman v. Grewel, then renamed Petro v. Grewel, and then renamed Petro v. Platkin. This brief is submitted in support of the petitioners: Dr. Joseph Glassman, MD; Manish Pujara, a licensed pharmacist; and Anthony Petro, a patient.

The Act’s findings describe the Act as “entirely voluntary.” There is, however, no enforcement mechanism to make this so. Deaths per the Act are allowed to occur in private, without a witness or even a doctor present.... 

Major Assisted Suicide Win in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

By Barbara Lyons

Patients' Rights Action Fund

We are thrilled to announce that a favorable decision was reached in Kligler v. Healy by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts which rejected the notion that there is a right to assisted suicide in the Massachusetts Constitution.  

Here is a key phrase from the decision:

Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all end-of-life decisions, after careful consideration, we conclude that the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights does not reach so far as to protect physician-assisted suicide.3 We conclude as well that the law of manslaughter may prohibit physician-assisted suicide, and does so, without offending constitutional protections.

Going the Way of the Dinosaur

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

This document is a shorter and more formal version of my presentation at the Caring About Everyone Conference in Hartford Connecticut, on October 15, 2022. The conference was generously sponsored by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Family Institute of Connecticut.

About Me

I am an attorney licensed to practice law in Washington State. I have been working against assisted suicide and euthanasia since 2008. I am also president of Choice is an Illusion and the Foundation for Choice is an Illusion.

Connecticut Event Background Materials

1.  Dore Memo Regarding Raised Bill No. 88. Prepared for hearing before the Public Health Committee, February 23, 2022, at 9 am

2.  Web version, dated February 22, 2022

3.  Amicus Brief argued before the New Jersey Court of Appeals (not Connecticut). The arguments may be helpful.  

Join Margaret Dore and Other Featured Speakers Opposing Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. An In-Person and Online Event

Margaret Dore:  "It's been a long time since a lot of us have seen each other. Thank you to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Family Institute of Connecticut for sponsoring this event!"

The Event:  Caring About Everyone, EPC-USA Anti-Assisted Suicide Conference.

Keynote Speaker:  Wesley J. Smith, contributor to The Corner at National Review and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism.   

Off Topic: My Best Friend Zena

By Margaret Dore

Approximately two years ago, my friend, Dr. Annie Bukacek, purchased a dog for protection, naming her Zena. It soon became apparent that Zena was a different kind of dog. For whatever reason, she never learned her name, but she knew when we were talking about her. She was smart, silly and very social.

Zena loved to make friends with the people who came to Annie’s office. Sometimes they brought her treats. She made friends [with me] at the local Starbucks, meaning more treats. She reached out to a lonely woman at the bank, making the woman’s day.

Maybe You Trust Your Kids, But What About Your Son's New Wife?

My name is Margaret Dore. I am a licensed attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. I have personally testified in 20 U.S. legislatures, including Connecticut, and also internationally. I oppose Raised Bill No. 88.

Yesterday, I submitted a formal legal analysis detailing problems with the proposed Act, that it is not what it's sold to be.

I also encourage you to look at my website, which has an online version of my analysis, which can be viewed here.

Board Member Kate Kelly Is Moving on to the Next Stage of Her Life

By Margaret Dore

In 2011, I met a beautiful blonde woman at a Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Conference in Vancouver BC Canada. To me, she looked like a movie star. She was in fact a jazz singer and also a teacher.

We talked and she explained that her mother had been starved and dehydrated to death in a Canadian long-term care home. She also told me that she had published an article about her experience and agreed to let me republish the article on the Choice in an Illusion website.[1] We also became friends.

In April 2013, Alex Schadenberg, head of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, wrote Kate regarding the impact of her republished article: 

I want you to know that I had a meeting with a head nurse at a local nursing home today who was converted by your article about your mom's death.

She cried and cried . . . she is trying to change her nursing home.

Reject Connecticut Bill 88: Don't Let Yourselves or the People You Care About Become Sitting Ducks to Predators

To read a pdf version, click here.

I. INTRODUCTION

I am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. I have personally appeared and testified against these practices in 20 US states and also internationally.[1]  

The proposed Connecticut Act, Raised Bill No. 88, seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined.[2] This will be on both a voluntary and involuntary basis.

The Act is based on similar acts in Oregon and Washington State. I urge you to protect yourselves and the people you care about. Vote “No” to reject Raised Bill No. 88. 

EPC - USA Files Brief to Massachusetts Supreme Court in the Kligler Assisted Suicide Case

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Directive, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

In January 2020 the assisted suicide lobby appealed a Massachusetts Superior court decision which found that there was no right to assisted suicide in Massachusetts. 

Recently the Massachusetts Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and yesterday, EPC-USA submitted a brief in the Massachusetts Supreme Court in this case. 

The case known as Kligler concerns Dr Roger Kligler, who is living with prostate cancer and seeking death by assisted suicide and Dr Alan Schoenberg, who is willing to prescribe lethal drugs for Kligler to die by assisted suicide.  Kligler who claimed to be terminally ill when launching the case in 2016 remains alive today.

Kligler and Schoenberg are arguing that doctors cannot be prosecuted for prescribing lethal drugs for assisted suicide to a competent terminally ill person under the Massachusetts state constitution.

"If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"

Jeanette Hall and her son, Scott, in November 2000

By Jeanette Hall

I live in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. Our law passed in 1997 by a ballot measure that I voted for.

In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had 6 months to a year to live.  I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing it. I tried to ask my doctor, Kenneth Stevens MD, but he didn’t really answer me. In hindsight, he was stalling me.

I did not want to suffer. I wanted to do our law and I wanted Dr. Stevens to help me. Instead, he encouraged me to not give up and ultimately I decided to fight the cancer. I had both chemotherapy and radiation.  I am so happy to be alive!

This last July, it was 21 years since my diagnosis. If Dr. Stevens had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead. Assisted suicide should not be legal.

Dore Press Release: "Delaware Bill Seeks to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia"

Attorney Margaret Dore, President of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought against assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization throughout the United States, and internationally, has issued the following statement regarding House Bill 140, now pending in the Delaware General Assembly, seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, on both a voluntary and involuntary basis. The Act, deceptively titled End of Life Options, refers to these practices as medical aid in dying.

“Aid in Dying has been a euphemism for physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia since at least 1992," said Dore. “Per the American Medical Association, ‘physician-assisted suicide’ occurs when a doctor facilitates a patient’s death by providing the means or information to enable a patient to perform the life-ending act. ‘Euthanasia’ is the administration of a lethal agent by another person.”

Legal Memorandum: Delaware Euthanasia Bill Must Be Rejected

I. INTRODUCTION

The Act, HB 140, seeks to amend Title 16 of the Delaware Code, to thereby create Chapter 25B “Relating to End of Life Options.” If enacted, the Act will legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined. This will be on both a voluntary and involuntary basis. The Act terms these practices medical aid in dying.

Aid in dying has been a euphemism for physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia since at least 1992.[1] The proposed Act is based on similar acts in Oregon and Washington State. Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997. Washington’s nearly identical act went into effect in 2009.  

All three acts apply to persons with a six month or less life expectancy. Such persons may in fact have years or decades to live. A well known example is Jeanette Hall. In 2000, she made a settled decision to use Oregon’s act. Her doctor convinced her to be treated for cancer instead, such that she is alive today, twenty-two years later.

Medical Directors Sentenced

To view original article, click here

Judge Lynn

By Jim Parker

Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn has sentenced Novus Health Services Medical Directors Mark E. Gibbs, M.D., and Laila Hirjee, M.D., along with one of the company’s nurses, Tammie Little, to a combined 23 years in prison following their convictions for hospice fraud exceeding $40 million.

Gibbs was sentenced to 13 years as well as paying restitution of nearly $28 million. Hirjee received 10 years in prison and must pay more than $16 million. The judge also sentenced Little to a 33 month incarceration.

The company’s CEO Bradley Harris was also convicted in the case. He agreed to a plea deal, pled guilty and testified against his former employees, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Constitutional Challenge Brief Filed in New Jersey Euthanasia Appeal

Updated Tuesday July 20, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, USA. Attorney Margaret Dore, President of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought against assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization throughout the United States, and internationally, has released the following statement in connection with the filing of a constitutional challenge amicus brief, which seeks to invalidate New Jersey’s Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act. The case, Petro et al v. Grewal, is pending in the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division, A-003837-19.

California Amendments Seek to Weaken Patient Protections, Attestation Provisions Eliminated

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

On February 10, 2021, assisted suicide/euthanasia proponents introduced a bill seeking to amend California's End of Life Option Act. The bill, SB 380, eliminates the Act's 2026 sunset date, and also allows a 15 day waiting period to be shortened to 48 hours in certain circumstances.[1]

Katy Grimes, editor of the California Globe (pictured), had this to say:

When it comes to carrying out the death penalty for convicted murders, the California Legislature finds the lethal drug cocktails "cruel and unusual punishment," which they say is a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Yet lawmakers were more than willing to approve a lethal drug cocktail to allow sick people to kill themselves.  I wrote [this] in 2015 as the California Legislature was considering [passage of the Act].[2]

Colombia Legislature Defeats Bill to Legalize Euthanasia Again

By Michael Cook

For entire article, click here.

The Colombian legislature has once again failed to pass a law legalizing euthanasia. Earlier this week a bill proposed by representative Juan Fernando Reyes Kuri needed to reach 85 votes in favour, but fell two votes short.

Although Colombia is often described as a country where euthanasia is legal, the actual situation is complicated. In 1997 the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that that “the State cannot oppose the decision of an individual who does not wish to continue living and who requests help to die when suffering from a terminal illness that causes unbearable pain, incompatible with his idea of dignity”. It directed the legislature to pass a law regulating the right to die.

However, more than 20 years have passed and one bill after another has failed.