Boston Globe: “For Assistance in Dying, Please Press 1”

By Diane Coleman (pictured right) 

Liz Carr’s documentary, “Better Off Dead?”, continues making a difference, serving as a wake up call about the dangers assisted suicide laws pose for people with disabilities. A Boston Globe columnist noted this week:

The most chilling detail in “Better Off Dead?” a new BBC documentary by the English actress and comedian Liz Carr, is an automated telephone message. …

Thank you for calling. The Ontario Medical Assistance in Dying Care Coordination Service is designed to provide information about end of life options in Ontario and referrals for Medical Assistance in Dying. If you would like to speak with an adviser to access the service or get more information, please press 1.

Support for Assisted Suicide Is Up, But the Slope It Would Lead to Is Dangerously Slippery.

By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist

Updated June 12, 2024, 3:00 a.m.

The most chilling detail in “Better Off Dead?” a new BBC documentary by the English actress and comedian Liz Carr (pictured here), is an automated telephone message: "For assistance in dying, please press 1."

Carr, who has been disabled since childhood and uses a wheelchair, made the film as Parliament debates whether to make it legal for doctors to help end the lives of people who are terminally ill and who say they wish to die. Similar legislation is being pushed in Massachusetts, where a bill permitting doctors to prescribe suicide drugs to patients with less than six months to live is now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The film lasts just 58 minutes but it powerfully refutes the claim that authorizing medical professionals to facilitate the deaths of people with a fatal illness or disability is either enlightened or safe.

French Euthanasia Proposal Dead for Now

Mr. Schadenberg at European Parliament

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. (Pictured here).

The European Parliament held their elections from June 6 to June 9, 2024 resulting in a shift in the balance of power. It appears that the European Parliament will likely have more of a  conservative focus over the next few years.

In response to the European election results and the shift in european politics, French President, Emmanuel Macron, on June 10 called a snap election with his hope of catching conservative political parties off-guard. The election will be on June 29 - 30 and the second tier on July 6 - 7.

Colorado Governor Signs Bill Reducing Patient Protections

Governor Polis (pictured here) signed SB068, an amendment to Colorado’s End of Life Options Act (assisted suicide and euthanasia) into law on June 5, 2024. 

The bill reduces the waiting period for patients seeking an aid-in-dying prescription (assisted suicide and euthanasia), from 15 to 7 days, increases the number of practitioners who can participate in the law, and allows providers to waive the waiting period if the patient is not likely to survive more than 48 hours and meets all other qualifications. 

Nearly Every US State That Has Legalized Assisted Suicide, Has Expanded Its Law

By Alex Schadenberg (pictured here)

In 2019 Oregon expanded their assisted suicide law by giving doctors the ability to waive the 15 day waiting period when a person was deemed near to death. In 2023 Oregon removed the residency requirement extending assisted suicide nationally to anyone.

In 2021 California expanded their assisted suicide law by reducing the waiting period from 15 days to 48 hours. It forced doctors who oppose assisted suicide to be complicit in the process (later struck down by the court), and it forced all medical institutions to post their policy on assisted suicide.

New York Act Fails to Advance

The proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act, which had sought to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State, was first introduced in the New York State Senate by former Staten Island Sen. Diane Savino, — and in the Assembly by Westchester County Assembly member Amy Paulin, — during the 2015-2016 legislative session. 

The legislation has never advanced past the committee state in either the Senate or Assembly.