Thank you to Jackie and all of the people in Hawaii for your great support in the fight against assisted suicide and euthanasia. You know who you are. Thank you.
Margaret Dore, President
Choice is an Illusion
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Monday, January 27, 2014
"Is there a way to allow a person to end his life without making someone else a criminal?"
By Margaret Dore, Esq.
A legislator considering an assisted suicide law asked me this question: "Is there a way to allow a person to end his life without making someone else a criminal?"
This was my (slightly edited) response:
People take their lives all the time. One of my cousins shot himself and another threw himself in front of a train. There was no criminality involved. Also, if people are in pain, palliative care laws allow medical personnel to give patients copious amounts of drugs, including up to sedation, which can hasten the patient's death. This is the principal of double effect. This is legal. For more information, read the Affidavit of Kenneth Stevens, MD, page 3, paragraph 13.
There is also palliative care abuse in which no one seems to be held accountable, except for maybe one case in California where doctors relied on a wealthy patient's daughters, who said that their father was really bad off and didn't want treatment, which was not the case. At least, that's what's claimed by the man's son. See William Dotinga, "Grim Complaint Against Kaiser Hospital," Court House News Service, February 6, 2012.
I've had like 15-20 contacts in the past year by people upset about their family member being suddenly off'd by medical personnel and/or having DNR's put on family members/friends without the patient's consent. My caregiver friends also talk about guarding their patients in the hospital. Here are some letters from Montana. http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2013/04/dont-give-doctors-more-power-to-abuse.html
Here's a letter from Washington State where assisted suicide is legal. The letter talks about doctors being quick with the morphine and also regarding the conduct of an adult son shortly after our assisted suicide law was passed ("an adult child of one of our clients asked about getting the pills [to kill the father]. It wasn't the father saying that he wanted to die"). http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2012/07/dear-montana-board-of-medical-examiners.html Here's a letter from a wife about how she was afraid to leave her husband alone after a doctor pitched assisted suicide to her husband. http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2013/01/i-was-afraid-to-leave-my-husband-alone.html
There is also the issue that people who say they want to die don't mean it, as with any suicide. See http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/p/what-people-mean-when-they-say-they.html
I've had two clients whose fathers signed up for the Oregon/Washington assisted suicide acts. With the first case, one side of the family wanted the father to use the act and the other side didn't. He spent the last months of his life torn over whether of not he should kill himself. His daughter was also traumatized. He died a natural death. There is a Swiss study that you might be interested in, that 1 out of 5 family members were traumatized by witnessing the legal assisted suicide of a family member. See http://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/family-members-traumatized-eur-psych-2012.pdf
In my other case, the father had two suicide parties and it's not clear that it was voluntary. My client, his son, was told that his dad had said "You're not killing me, I'm going to bed"). Regarding the next day, my client was told that his dad was already high on alcohol when he drank the lethal dose. But then the person telling him this changed his story. In Montana, Senator Jeff Essman, made a relevant observation regarding this point:
I, however, doubt that a person in Oregon could be prosecuted. If you read the act carefully, there is no requirement of patient consent to administration of the lethal dose, and to the extent that's ambiguous, there's the rule of lenity. In Washington State, prosecutors are required to report assisted suicide deaths as "Natural" - no matter what - at least, that's what the regulation says: http://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/5300/DWDAMedCoroner.pdf How can you prosecute someone for homicide if the death is required to be reported as "Natural?"
Here in Washington, we have already had some informal proposals to expand the scope of our assisted suicide act. One in particular disturbed me. A Seattle Times column suggested euthanasia as a solution for people unable to support themselves, which would be involuntary euthanasia. See Jerry Large, "Planning for old age at a premium," March 8, 2012, which states:
As a Democrat, I see us as looking out for the little guy, not passing laws to protect perpetrators, healthcare systems, etc. from legitimate claims. I hope that you will vote against any effort to legalize assisted suicide/euthanasia.
Thank you for writing me back.
Margaret Dore
People take their lives all the time. One of my cousins shot himself and another threw himself in front of a train. There was no criminality involved. Also, if people are in pain, palliative care laws allow medical personnel to give patients copious amounts of drugs, including up to sedation, which can hasten the patient's death. This is the principal of double effect. This is legal. For more information, read the Affidavit of Kenneth Stevens, MD, page 3, paragraph 13.
There is also palliative care abuse in which no one seems to be held accountable, except for maybe one case in California where doctors relied on a wealthy patient's daughters, who said that their father was really bad off and didn't want treatment, which was not the case. At least, that's what's claimed by the man's son. See William Dotinga, "Grim Complaint Against Kaiser Hospital," Court House News Service, February 6, 2012.
I've had like 15-20 contacts in the past year by people upset about their family member being suddenly off'd by medical personnel and/or having DNR's put on family members/friends without the patient's consent. My caregiver friends also talk about guarding their patients in the hospital. Here are some letters from Montana. http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2013/04/dont-give-doctors-more-power-to-abuse.html
Here's a letter from Washington State where assisted suicide is legal. The letter talks about doctors being quick with the morphine and also regarding the conduct of an adult son shortly after our assisted suicide law was passed ("an adult child of one of our clients asked about getting the pills [to kill the father]. It wasn't the father saying that he wanted to die"). http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2012/07/dear-montana-board-of-medical-examiners.html Here's a letter from a wife about how she was afraid to leave her husband alone after a doctor pitched assisted suicide to her husband. http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2013/01/i-was-afraid-to-leave-my-husband-alone.html
There is also the issue that people who say they want to die don't mean it, as with any suicide. See http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/p/what-people-mean-when-they-say-they.html
I've had two clients whose fathers signed up for the Oregon/Washington assisted suicide acts. With the first case, one side of the family wanted the father to use the act and the other side didn't. He spent the last months of his life torn over whether of not he should kill himself. His daughter was also traumatized. He died a natural death. There is a Swiss study that you might be interested in, that 1 out of 5 family members were traumatized by witnessing the legal assisted suicide of a family member. See http://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/family-members-traumatized-eur-psych-2012.pdf
In my other case, the father had two suicide parties and it's not clear that it was voluntary. My client, his son, was told that his dad had said "You're not killing me, I'm going to bed"). Regarding the next day, my client was told that his dad was already high on alcohol when he drank the lethal dose. But then the person telling him this changed his story. In Montana, Senator Jeff Essman, made a relevant observation regarding this point:
"[All] the protections [in Oregon's law] end after the prescription is written. [The proponents] admitted that the provisions in the Oregon law would permit one person to be alone in that room with the patient. And in that situation, there is no guarantee that that medication is self-administered.
So frankly, any of the studies that come out of the state of Oregon's experience are invalid because no one who administers that drug . . . to that patient is going to be turning themselves in for the commission of a homicide."Senate Judiciary Hearing on SB 167 on February 10, 2011
I, however, doubt that a person in Oregon could be prosecuted. If you read the act carefully, there is no requirement of patient consent to administration of the lethal dose, and to the extent that's ambiguous, there's the rule of lenity. In Washington State, prosecutors are required to report assisted suicide deaths as "Natural" - no matter what - at least, that's what the regulation says: http://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/5300/DWDAMedCoroner.pdf How can you prosecute someone for homicide if the death is required to be reported as "Natural?"
Here in Washington, we have already had some informal proposals to expand the scope of our assisted suicide act. One in particular disturbed me. A Seattle Times column suggested euthanasia as a solution for people unable to support themselves, which would be involuntary euthanasia. See Jerry Large, "Planning for old age at a premium," March 8, 2012, which states:
"After Monday's column, . . . a few [readers] suggested that if you couldn't save enough money to see you through your old age, you shouldn't expect society to bail you out. At least a couple mentioned euthanasia as a solution." (Emphasis added)So, if you worked hard and paid taxes all your life and then your company pension plan goes belly up, this is how you want society to pay you back?
As a Democrat, I see us as looking out for the little guy, not passing laws to protect perpetrators, healthcare systems, etc. from legitimate claims. I hope that you will vote against any effort to legalize assisted suicide/euthanasia.
Thank you for writing me back.
Margaret Dore
Labels:
Margaret Dore
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister
Justin McCurry, guardian.co.uk
Taro Aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government
Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances. Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care. "Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die." Read more
Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances. Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care. "Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die." Read more
Labels:
healthcare rationing,
medical abandonment
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Legalization of Assisted Suicide Opens Door to Abuse
From Civil Beat Community Voices
Civil Beat recently published a Community Voices article by Dr. Charles Miller called “Aid-in-Dying is Not Assisted Suicide.” In his article, Dr. Miller, founder of the Physician Advisory Council for Aid in Dying (PACAID), promotes what he euphemistically calls “aid-in-dying” in lieu of the generally accepted term “assisted suicide.”
Groups like PACAID attempt to obfuscate the moral and legal issues surrounding assisted suicide in Hawaii by using the euphemism “aid-in-dying.” However, the real meaning of this term becomes clear by an understanding of the group’s mission, which is to promote physician involvement in hastening patients’ deaths, such as through issuing a prescription for lethal drugs.
Discontinuing care that would otherwise extend a patient’s life is vastly different than taking affirmative steps to end life. Patients legitimately have the right to make end of life decisions such as when certain medical interventions are no longer appropriate. This is legal and presents no ethical dilemma. As a skilled home health and hospice caregiver, the notion that any care provider has a role to play in helping people take their own lives is offensive. Read more
Monday, November 26, 2012
Hawaii Medical Association Rejects Assisted Suicide
Serving Hawaii since 1856, the Hawaii Medical Association (HMA) is a voluntary, professional membership organization for physicians, resident physicians, and medical students in the state of Hawaii. HMA is dedicated to serving physicians, their patients, and the community through representation, advocacy, and public service. HMA is part of the American Medical Association (AMA) and is the parent organization for Hawaii's five component medical societies that operate independently, but in a network with the HMA in all four counties in the State of Hawaii.
In the last several decades, medical technology has made tremendous advances in saving and extending lives. As a result, life expectancy has increased dramatically.
The Hawaii Medical Association, along with the American Medical Association, oppose any bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide or death. We believe physician-assisted suicide to be unethical and fundamentally inconsistent with the pledge all physicians take to devote themselves to healing and life.
Christopher D. Flanders, D.O.
Executive Director
Hawaii Medical Association
The Hawaii Medical Association, along with the American Medical Association, oppose any bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide or death. We believe physician-assisted suicide to be unethical and fundamentally inconsistent with the pledge all physicians take to devote themselves to healing and life.
Christopher D. Flanders, D.O.
Executive Director
Hawaii Medical Association
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Teen Wakes as Doctors Prepare to Harvest Her Organs
Alex Schadenberg, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
There have been several reports in the past few years about people who are being prepared for organ donation, who wake up or shows "signs of life." These stories create a distrust in society concerning the practice of organ donation and it leads to fewer people willing to be organ donors. The abuse of organ donation related to the wish to procure more organs for an endless demand for organ donation may be leading to sloppy evaluations by some physicians, while other physicians consider people who appear to be nearing death as suitable organ donors because they "will die anyway." Read more
There have been several reports in the past few years about people who are being prepared for organ donation, who wake up or shows "signs of life." These stories create a distrust in society concerning the practice of organ donation and it leads to fewer people willing to be organ donors. The abuse of organ donation related to the wish to procure more organs for an endless demand for organ donation may be leading to sloppy evaluations by some physicians, while other physicians consider people who appear to be nearing death as suitable organ donors because they "will die anyway." Read more
Euthanasia by any other name
Paul Russell, MercatorNet.com
Euthanasia by any other name is still the deliberate taking of a human life and politicians are right to reject it. Read more
Euthanasia by any other name is still the deliberate taking of a human life and politicians are right to reject it. Read more
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