Nancy Elliott, a former three term New Hampshire State Representative, and organizer of Living with Dignity - New Hampshire is organizing a one-day conference on assisted suicide on Friday, November 4, 2011 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Nashua New Hampshire.Register here?
The conference speakers include: Diane Coleman and Stephen Drake from Not Dead Yet, Nancy Elliott, Margaret Dore from Choice is an Illusion and Alex Schadenberg from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.
Nancy Elliott responded to the question as to why she was organizing a New Hampshire assisted suicide conference, she responded this way.
Why All of New England Must Join in the Fight Against Assisted Suicide In Massachusetts.
I am a former three term New Hampshire State Representative. I was a member of the House Judiciary Committee in 2009 and 2010 when we defeated a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide in New Hampshire. I played a key role in the subsequent defeat of a similar bill in 2011. I am now the organizer? of Living with Dignity - New Hampshire, a non-profit opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.
New Hampshire is now facing a new and ominous threat via the proposed assisted suicide initiative in Massachusetts, which will likely go to the ballot in the November 2012 vote.
The recent death of my husband and the fact that he received treatment in Massachusetts has led me to believe that if we lose the assisted suicide initiative in Massachusetts, it will be the beginning of the end for stopping assisted suicide in the US. What would it have been like for my husband and I, if when he was there, he had been denied desired treatment and offered assisted suicide instead? This has happened in Oregon where assisted suicide has been legal since 1997. The state health plan, a government entity, is now empowered to steer patients to suicide.
The people in the New England states are dependant upon the Massachusetts medical centers for their medical treatment in difficult circumstances.
Many of the leading healthcare institutions and training centers in the US are in Massachusetts. If assisted suicide becomes part of their training program, Massachusetts will export suicide-minded physicians throughout the US.
In fact, my husband was crital 3 times in Massachusetts hospitals over the last 15 years. My grandaughter has had 14 surgeries in Boston Hospitals and many other family members have been in critical conditions in Massachusetts. This is personal. Just because we do not have a vote on the ballot does not mean that we cannot influence those that have power to change this or vote for this.
We must defeat the Massachusetts Initiative that will likely be on the ballot in November 2012. We cannot be complacent and think that - "I don't live in Massachusetts, so it doesn't effect me, or we have others important issues to be concerned about."
What is required is a national response to the Massachusetts initiative.
Register here?
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