New York assisted suicide bill sponsor: get this passed first, expand it later.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

In my review of Michigan assisted suicide Senate Bill 0681 I referred to the bill as similar to a "trojan horse" as it is designed to sell assisted suicide and if passed the assisted suicide lobby will expand the law.

While listening to the video of a conference promoting the New York assisted suicide bill, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who is the sponsor of Assembly Bill A00995 stated (starting at 18:40) that:

No person can administer the medication to the patient. It has to be self-administered. 

We've been criticised by some organizations that actually want an expansion to that but we've held firm because... we want to get this passed first.

And then perhaps if other states who have had more experience feel that there needs to be an expansion, and I don't think they will because Oregon has been doing this for a long time, then they can come back to us, but at this point and time we have no interest in expanding beyond a self-administered dose.

A similar statement was made by J.M. Sorrell, Executive Director of Massachusetts Death with Dignity, who was quoted on a similar bill as saying, 

“Once you get something passed, you can always work on amendments later.” 

Safeguards are part of a deliberate bait and switch tactic by assisted suicide advocates to get a bill passed and then come back to amend it by gutting those safeguards.