Author Archives: Maria

Stop the Effort to Legalize Doctor-Prescribed Suicide in PA

Together we can stop assisted suicide

Some Pennsylvania lawmakers have circulated a co-sponsorship memo to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide in PA.

You can find the co-sponsorship memo here.

Doctor-prescribed suicide is a dangerous practice in which physicians prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to end the lives of vulnerable individuals.

A number of medical professionals, disability rights activists, and others have condemned the practice because the so-called legal safeguards simply do not work.

Please join with us in raising our collective voices against this ill-conceived legislation.

Assisted Suicide Needs to be Stopped

Source: Hartford Courant

By: Lisa Blumberg

It defies imagination that Connecticut is contemplating legalizing assisted suicide when COVID-19 deaths have exceeded 500,000 nationwide. The virus has laid bare the inequities and prejudices of our health system. Low-income people and people of color are dying at disproportionately high rates. Connecticut has the highest COVID-19 nursing home death rate in the Northeast. An appalling 91 out of every 100,000 nursing home residents in Connecticut have died. Early in the crisis, members of the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics wrote chillingly that “typical medical options may soon not be available to everyone.”

Read more ...

Assisted Suicide Hurts People with Disabilities

Doctor

Source: Real Clear Policy

By Kristen Hanson

Melissa Hickson’s husband, Michael, was a 46-year old quadriplegic suffering from COVID-19 who died after the hospital ended his treatment because of what they considered to be his low quality of life. Hickson’s experience, like mine, highlights the ableism that permeates our medical system and often results in a refusal to treat those whose lives are considered not worth living.

Navigating a system where the doctors and insurers hold all the power is overwhelming, but that is where I found myself in May 2014. When my late husband, J. J. Hanson, unexpectedly had a grand mal seizure at 33 years old. I quickly realized that J.J. would surely die if I did not advocate fiercely on his behalf.

Read more ...

Legalizing Assisted Suicide Risks Harm to Veterans

Elderly holding hands

Source: The Virginia Pilot

By Tom Steffens

When I was on active duty, one of the key tenets of our Navy SEAL Creed was, “Leave no one behind.”

I see this same principle alive across our commonwealth as civil society and our public servants work tirelessly to support our 700,000 veterans every day. Despite that extraordinary effort, we all know that the men and women who valiantly served our country are at a higher risk for suicide.

Read more ...

Assisted Suicide Puts the Most Vulnerable at Risk

Hospital

Source: Fredericksburg.com

By Dr. Thomas Eppes and Dr. Kurt Elward

WITH THE newly elected Virginia state legislature taking power in 2020, the debate over assisted suicide has returned to the General Assembly with a name change to disguise the real meaning.

The bill [Health Care Decision Making, HB 1649] introduced by Del. Kaye Kory, D–Fairfax, also intends to expand assisted suicide authority to nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

As physicians, we strongly oppose any effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Virginia or elsewhere. This also is the longstanding position of the Medical Society of Virginia and the American Medical Association.

Read more ...