Author Archives: Maria

I Want My Doctors to Help Me Live, Not Die

Friday, 07 July 2017 11:42
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JJ Hanson & family

Published by the Wall Street Journal on July 6th, 2017
By J.J. Hanson

Aggressive brain cancer is trying to end my life. The best doctors in the world are racing to find a cure. Meanwhile, legislation promoting assisted suicide all over the nation would dismantle essential protections and care on which I, and so many others, depend as we fight terminal illnesses. Bills that would legalize or expand assisted suicide have been introduced in 29 states.

Three years ago, I was living the American dream. I was happily married, our son had just turned 1, and I had a job I loved. My life changed in an instant. I had a grand mal seizure at work and went to the hospital. Doctors ran tests, including a CT scan, but could not find anything wrong. As they were preparing to send me home, my wife demanded an MRI.

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Five Mistaken Reasons for Assisted Suicide

Monday, 05 June 2017 12:21
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AnitaCameron

Source: Not Dead Yet

by Anita Cameron

I sometimes hear these thoughts and feelings expressed, so I want to share my responses.

1.  I want the freedom, choice and the right to end my life when I want to.

That freedom and choice already exists. When the pain of an illness gets to be too much, you can decide using a number of methods to end your life. Suicide is not illegal in the United States.

What you want is the freedom to doctor shop until you find a doctor who will give you suicide pills, even if it means that the choice to live will be taken away from some elders and people with disabilities who do not want to die.

It’s especially incomprehensible to argue for a right to assisted suicide as an accepted medical treatment option when we don’t yet have a right to health care, and the threat to such health care access as we do have is growing. For Blacks and People of Color, the racial disparities in health care are too great for us to be fooled into believing that we should have the “option” of assisted suicide as a medical procedure. As the cheapest procedure, it’s not a benefit but a threat.

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No to Doctor-Assisted Suicide

Wednesday, 17 May 2017 11:02
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Woman with arms raised celebrates her achievement and success in the sunshine even with her disabilities in a wheelchair.

Source: Sentinel & Enterprise

By Dr. Mark Rollo

Death described as desirable; that is doctor-prescribed suicide.

Nine times in recent years, the death lobby has poured out-of-state money into Massachusetts in an effort to establish law that would simultaneously place the vulnerable at risk and corrupt the practice of medicine. Nine times the residents of Massachusetts have said “No!” to these efforts.

The death lobby is otherwise known as Compassion & Choices. That name is just one of their euphemistic deceptions. They were formerly known as the Hemlock Society but changed their name when they realized that naming their organization after a poison was not good public relations. Yet poison is what they are peddling, and they want the medical profession to push it.

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Daily News: Assisted Suicide Distorts Doctors’ Duties

Monday, 01 May 2017 12:19
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Stock Photo

Source: Daily News

By John Rhee

“It’s my life; why won’t you just let me die?” We had spent much time together during the weeks on my psychiatry rotation and had grown fairly close. Yet it wasn’t our bond that made her words so hard to hear. It was because she wasn’t dying; she was depressed.

Of course, at the time, none of my supervising psychiatric physicians acceded to her wish to end her life. On the contrary, they worked hard to help her see the value in her life with a combination of psychotherapy, counseling and medication.

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The Oklahoman: Bipartisan Opposition to Assisted Suicide Emerges

Wednesday, 29 March 2017 15:14
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Oklahoman

Source: The Oklahoman

THE issue of assisted suicide is slowly becoming a cause du jour among some political activists, but it continues to face strong — and often bipartisan — resistance. That’s comforting indication that some issues transcend partisan divisions, and that lawmakers can still view issues through a lens other than party loyalty.

The latest example comes from New Mexico, where assisted suicide legislation was advanced this year. One bill passed out of committee but was defeated by a 22-20 vote on the Senate floor. Those voting in opposition included seven Democrats and 15 Republicans.

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