Preventing the spread of Assisted Suicide in America.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

America continues to be in the grips of a COVID-19 crisis and yet state legislatures are debating the legalization and expansion of assisted suicide.

In 2021, assisted suicide legalization bills are currently being debated  in Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota and Rhode Island. Assisted suicide expansion bills are being debated in California, Hawaii and Washington State.

Youtube video by Alex Schadenberg (below): Preventing the spread of assisted suicide.

The assisted suicide lobby is trying to expand current assisted suicide laws by (among other changes) reducing or removing waiting periods, allowing people who are not doctors to approve or prescribe death, forcing medical professionals who oppose killing to refer patients to death, and allowing lethal drugs to be sent by courier or the mail rather than picked up with proper identification.

Some of the legalization bills are similar to the assisted suicide expansion bills, such as the New Mexico assisted suicide bill. The New Mexico bill, among other things, waives the requirement of a second assessor when the person requesting assisted suicide is enrolled in hospice.

It is more difficult to oppose assisted suicide at a online committee hearing, than an in person meeting. For instance, people with disabilities have lived stories about how legalizing assisted suicide threatens their lives. Online witnesses lack the same level of impact than witnesses who are present at the hearing. Nonetheless, there are powerful stories and information to be shared with legislators.

Assisted suicide is not what it appears to be.

Assisted suicide is sold to the public as a quick, peaceful "dignified" death. The truth is different than the theory.

Due to the cost and availability of Seconal and Pentobarbital, the assisted suicide lobby has been involved with lethal drug cocktail experiments to create cheaper, effective ways to kill.

An article by JoNel Aleccia published by Kaiser Health News in March, 2017 examined the lethal drug coctail experiments. The article states:

The first Seconal alternative turned out to be too harsh, burning patients’ mouths and throats, causing some to scream in pain. 

The second drug mix, used 67 times, has led to deaths that stretched out hours in some patients — and up to 31 hours in one case. 

These lethal drug cocktail experiments were human experiments. Even though people suffered greatly from the lethal cocktail, the lethal drug experiments were done on 67 people.

According to an article by Lisa Krieger published by the Medical Xpress on September 8, 2020 states:

A little-known secret, not publicized by advocates of aid-in-dying, was that while most deaths were speedy, others were very slow. Some patients lingered for six or nine hours; a few, more than three days. No one knew why, or what needed to change.

"The public thinks that you take a pill and you're done," said Dr. Gary Pasternak, chief medical officer of Mission Hospice in San Mateo. "But it's more complicated than that."

Assisted suicide laws are designed to protect physicians who participate in the act, not the person considering death.

The most recent data from Oregon indicates that in 2019 there were 188 reported assisted suicide deaths up from 178 in 2018. They don't want you to know that in 2019 there were 21 people who received lethal drugs and died, but they have no idea how they died and in 2018 there were 14 deaths with the same circumstance. 

Similarly, in Washington State the 2018 data indicates that there were 203 reported assisted suicide deaths, up from 164 in 2017. They had no idea how 19 people who received lethal drugs died, which was up from 13 deaths in the same circumstance in 2017.

According to the reports, deaths deemed "unknown" means that they have no idea how they died. It is possible that some or all of the 67 deaths, (35 in Oregon and 32 in Washington state over two years) were unreported assisted suicide deaths. Remember, these people are being prescribed lethal controlled substances. 

Does this sound like there is effective oversight of the law when lethal drugs are prescribed and the state authority has no idea how they died? 

We need to create awareness about how assisted suicide laws affect the lives of people at the most vulnerable time of their life. This requires real lived stories and experiences that cross political party lines.

We need to dispel the myth that assisted suicide provides a peaceful death.

Politicians need to recognize that assisted suicide is not a progressive issue. Legalizing assisted suicide gives power over life and death to physicians (expansion bills allow others). 

It is normal for people to fear a bad death, but giving physicians, and others, the power to cause death is a dangerous public policy, that can and is being abused.

We need a culture of care, that does not kill.

More articles on assisted suicide in America.

• What the assisted suicide lobby doesn't want you to know (Link).
• Washington State debates bill to expand assisted suicide law (Link).
• Assisted suicide deaths may not be quick or peaceful (Link).