Major Battle Over Assisted Suicide Brewing In Mass

[Little Star]

WBUR.ORG
By Carey Goldberg
December 5, 2011

Major Battle Over Assisted Suicide Brewing In Mass

snip~
Mark my words: There’s a great big battle brewing in Massachusetts over helping terminally ill patients commit suicide.

That’s not an original thought; in fact, a post last month on the New Old Age blog at nytimes.com was headlined “The Next Death-With-Dignity Battleground” and described energetic efforts to put the issue on next year’s Massachusetts ballot.

But the signs are multiplying that the battle is indeed on its way. The group behind the ballot initiative, Dignity 2012, gathered nearly 80,000 residents’ signatures, which seems to be a comfortable margin over the 70,000 or so needed to put a measure on the ballot. And this weekend, delegates at a major meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society voted to reaffirm their opposition to physician-assisted suicide, according to a society press release.
~snip
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/12/death-dignity-battle-massachusetts/

I know this article is a bit older but I was unaware of this upcoming battle. You?

[enough]

1. An interesting distinction:

snip from the article>

Stephen Crawford, spokesman for Dignity 2012, responds that the measure as proposed — the full language is here — is not about “physician-assisted suicide.”

“What this question will allow under Massachusetts law,” he said, “is for terminally ill patients to ask their doctor to prescribe life-ending medicine. That is not physician-assisted suicide in the sense we traditionally think of it. These are self-administered drugs.”

snip>

[customerserviceguy]

2. Too many cafeteria catholics on this coast for it to happen quite yet

When I was living in the Pacific Northwest, we passed it on the ballot in Washington and Oregon. Yes, there are religious types over there, but they are not as powerful as they are over here.

[Little Star]

4. Your right about the number of cafeteria catholics...

But that might be what will give this a chance. We do like to pick and choose what we agree or disagree with.

Personally, I would like to see it pass. One of my best friends was diagnosed with ALS last year.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Nope

It's much easier to be in denial that you or a loved one might need it. And let's face it, if you're still going through the motions of attending a church that you really don't believe in fully anymore, you might be a really good acquaintance with denial.

[Little Star]

3. The link to the the New Old Age blog is a good read...

snip~
The proposed statute, closely modeled on an initiative that Washington State voters passed in 2008, would allow a patient who’s expected to die within six months to self-administer lethal medication.

It includes a long list of precautions and protections: a lot of physician counseling and information; two doctors verifying that the patient is mentally competent and acting voluntarily; a 15-day waiting period between a first and second request, and another 48 hours before the prescription can be filled. At least one of the two witnesses to the written request can’t be a relative or an heir. And of course, the patient can always change his or her mind.
snip~

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/the-next-death-with-dignity-battleground/

[customerserviceguy]

6. Let's also remember something important about Washington State

It's the only state to consistently vote in favor of steps towards marriage equality. You have to have enough minds free from traditional religion to do accomplish that. Neither NY or MA (or any other state that I've seen since I moved here nearly five years ago) have that essential condition quite yet.

Hell, the laws regarding alcoholic beverage sales up and down the East Coast make you think Prohibition only ended a decade ago.