On January 16th, the latest version of the “End of Life Options” Act was introduced in Massachusetts. They keep changing to bill to protect doctors more and patients less.
We know the problems inherent in all assisted suicide bills:
- 6-month prognosis is highly inaccurate
- “Safeguards” become “barriers”
- Lack of all oversight into physician practice
- Strongly opposed by the disability community
- Impossible to determine if family is coercing the patient
- Acceptable to end suffering by ending the life of the sufferer
- People with other kinds of “suffering” will demand equal access to suicide
- Patients driven to assisted suicide by a broken medical system
In the latest version of the bill, new threats not yet seen anywhere are arising
- Placing bureaucrats in charge of determining how the law would be carried out and what doctors must/do not have to report so it can easily be changed without going through the legislature
- Explicitly denies public access to any data collected
- Forcing those who will not cooperate to make effective referrals – which is now part of Massachusetts law!!!
I will be writing more about these developments in subsequent posts so you can contact your legislators to voice your opposition.
Nature and dignity 