New Hampshire Death With Dignity Act Will Create a Perfect Crime

Media Release: Concord, New Hampshire, USA

Dore: “Persons assisting a suicide or euthanasia can have an agenda to benefit themselves. More obvious reasons include inheritance money and life insurance.”

“The Act will apply to people with years or decades to live.”

Contact: Margaret Dore, Esq.
margaretdore@margaretdore.com
(206) 697-1217

Margaret Dore

Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought against assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization efforts in many states, made the following statement in connection with a bill seeking to legalize these practices in New Hampshire. (HB 1659). 

Wednesday, 02/12/20, 1:00 P.M., SH Rm Reps Hall, House Judiciary.

“The proposed Death With Dignity Act seeks to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined,” said Dore. “If passed into law, the Act will apply to people with years or decades to live.”

Dore explained, 

“The Act is based on a similar law in Oregon, applying to people with a terminal disease expected to cause death within six months. In practice, such predictions are often wrong. This is due to actual mistakes and the fact that predicting life expectancy is not an exact science."

“Perhaps more importantly," said Dore, "the six months to live is determined without treatment. Consider Jeanette Hall, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. She made a settled decision to use Oregon’s law, but her doctor convinced her to be treated for cancer instead. Today, nineteen years later, she is thrilled to be alive.”

Dore said, 

“Persons assisting a suicide or euthanasia can have an agenda to benefit themselves. More obvious reasons include inheritance money and life insurance.”

“Medical professionals too can have an agenda,” said Dore. “Michael Swango, MD, now incarcerated, got a thrill from killing his patients. Consider also Harold Shipman, a doctor in the UK, who not only killed his patients, but stole from them and in one case made himself a beneficiary of the patient’s will.”

Dore said, 

“People who sign up for the lethal dose do not necessarily intend to take it. Sometimes they make the request at the suggestion of a doctor or family member, ‘just in case' they want to use it.’”

“Once the lethal dose is in the home, there is a complete lack of oversight,” said Dore. “No witness, not even a doctor, is required to be present at the death. If the patient objected or even struggled against administration, who would know?”

Dore said, 

“The death certificate will report a natural death, which will create a legal cover up and also allow a perpetrator to inherit. More to the point, the Act will create a perfect crime.”

“Consider also a 2005 article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper regarding a public inquiry of Dr. Shipman’s conduct,” said Dore. “The inquiry determined that he ‘killed at least 250 of his patients over 23 years.’ The inquiry also found ‘that by issuing death certificates stating natural causes, the serial killer [Shipman] was able to evade investigation by coroners.’”

Dore continued, 

“According to a subsequent article in 2015, proposed reforms included having a medical examiner review death certificates to improve patient safety. Instead, the proposed Act moves in the opposite direction to require a legal cover up as a matter of law.”

Dore concluded, 

“If the New Hampshire Act becomes law, there will be new paths of lethal abuse and exploitation, especially for older people with money, meaning the middle class and above. They will be sitting ducks to their heirs and other predators. Even if you like the concept of assisted suicide and euthanasia, the proposed Act is a recipe for abuse, exploitation and legal murder.”

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