Vermont Senators: Don't be Fooled by the assisted suicide bill S.77

Vote No on S.77 - Do Not be Fooled

Dear Senators:

This letter addresses assisted suicide and the windfall profit issue. By this, I mean the situation where people pay for health insurance, but don't use it much. Then, if assisted suicide is legal and they do get sick, insurers can legally encourage them to kill themselves. If this occurs, there is financial gravy for the insurer.

In the US, the head of the main group promoting assisted suicide is a former "managed care executive." See here. In 2009, she wrote an op-ed defending the Oregon Health Plan after it denied coverage to a patient. Her op-ed also encouraged readers to support a public policy discouraging patients from seeking cures, presumably by reducing coverage options. See here,

Here in Washington State, her group was the leading force in a ballot measure campaign that legalized assisted suicide. Our law, like the House Version of S.77, contains coercive provisions, which make it less likely that patients will get their choices. For example, in both laws, there is no oversight when the lethal dose is administered. Even if the patient struggled, who would know?

To view a short analysis of the House Version of S.77, go here.

To view a short article about Washington's law, go here.
Do not be fooled.

Margaret Dore
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, P.S.
Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation
www.margaretdore.com
www.choiceillusion.org