By Julie Grimstad
When a person self-administers a lethal poison provided by a physician for the purpose of committing suicide, this is physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The assisted suicide lobby promotes legislation using deceptive titles like “Death with Dignity Act,” “End of Life Option Act,” and “Medical Aid-in-Dying.” The word “suicide” does not sell well.
Ten states and Washington, D.C. have already legalized PAS. So-called “safeguards” in PAS bills are merely ploys to get these deadly laws enacted. Soon after enactment, “safeguards” are proclaimed “barriers” to access. The assisted suicide lobby never sleeps. Every year, it works to expand access to PAS. For instance, assisted suicide promoters know that, by removing residency requirements from existing state laws, anyone in the United States will be able to die by PAS. This ploy has met with success. In 2022, the Oregon Medical Board agreed to stop enforcing the state’s residency requirement, and Vermont’s attorney general’s office dropped Vermont’s residency requirement in 2023. Also, states that do not permit PAS are bombarded with bills to legalize it year after year. Minnesota is currently considering a bill to legalize assisted suicide that already includes a provision to allow non-residents to access PAS.
HALO urges you to be watchful for any movement toward expanding or legalizing assisted suicide in your state. In addition, prepare yourself so you will be able to expose the lies used to entice support for PAS.
No matter what the assisted suicide lobby names them, these laws are contrary to the physician’s duty to diagnose and treat patient’s ailments, not to prescribe deadly drugs for suicidal people.
One of the resources HALO provides is the booklet ASSISTED SUICIDE: YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT. In it, we expose many of the assisted suicide lobby’s lies. For instance, did you know that it is impossible to ensure that assisted suicide is a voluntary “choice”? Or that assisted suicide laws provide cover for murder? Or that healthcare providers are pressured to cooperate?
Read this simple 12-page booklet and share it with others. This is one way you can educate people and help HALO muster strong opposition to the legalization of PAS. We must help people see past the lies and think about the dreadful consequences of legalizing assisted suicide.
ASSISTED SUICIDE: YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT can be accessed on our website’s Resource page: https://halovoice.org/resources/. Or you may request a hard copy by emailing feedback@halovoice.org. Ask for the booklet by name and include your mailing address. Donations to help replenish HALO’s resources and cover mailing costs are gratefully accepted.
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=11fef33b78869a4e9c3c270a4&id=74c3cf786f.
Visit HALO’s main site at halovoice.org to learn more about advocacy for the sick and vulnerable.