The assisted suicide lobby has targeted Arizona for legalization

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

I have stated many times that the assisted suicide lobby has targeted Arizona and Florida for legalization based on the demographics of those states.

Now that Arizona assisted suicide bill (HB 2569) died a natural death, the assisted suicide lobby has begun a propaganda campaign to pave the way for assisted suicide legalization in 2027 with an article written by Claudia Núñez that was published in the AZCentral titled: Death with Dignity Laws are spreading, so why not in Arizona?

The article reads like an assisted suicide propaganda piece.

The assisted suicide lobby is concerned about the euthanasia stories that are being published. Núñez writes:

Although medical aid in dying and euthanasia are often used interchangeably in everyday language, they are governed by very different legal, medical, and ethical frameworks. Euthanasia is widely permitted in other countries, even for patients experiencing chronic, non-terminal suffering such as occurred this week in Spain.

The key distinction lies in the final act. Under Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), the patient must self-administer the medication. The physician prescribes the drug but does not directly participate in administering it. In active euthanasia, medical personnel directly administer the lethal substance once specific requirements are met.

The article is right when it states that the key distinction between euthanasia and assisted suicide is the completion of the act. The intention to kill and the lethal poison are not different, the only difference is who carries out the act.

Núñez explains, from the point of view of the assisted suicide lobby, the euthanasia death of Noelia Castillo Ramos (25) who was recently killed by lethal injection in Spain.

Núñez argues that American assisted suicide statutes have very strict guidelines while ignoring the fact that in 2023 in Oregon, the longest time of an assisted suicide death was 137 hours. In 2024, the Oregon Health Authority reported that the ingestion status was unknown in 178 of the 607 lethal poison prescriptions that had been approved and received. In other words, there is no effective oversight of the Oregon law.

The article continues with more propaganda promoting the assisted suicide talking points and ends by confirming that the assisted suicide lobby will continue lobbying politicians and they will support another Arizona assisted suicide bill in 2027.