In attachments are the talking points I referred to you in our conversation this morning. I can not stress enough to urge everyone on our side to stay clear away from bringing up religion, moral theology, prolife, and things like that.
The problem is the proposed Bill is a Bad Policy Bill, and the reasons pointed out should be our mantra.
One can be for the concept, but not these bills. (2025 #A136 & #S138).
I will be dropping off to your office , as discussed, our brochure which contains all of the short bullet points.
Most Sincerely,
Dawn C . Eskew1.631.487.7578
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My friend Margaret Dore [pictured above], who is copied here, provided me with four publications, which may be of help. Please see below.
1)
2)
Minnesota - By Ann Olson
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| Dore in red. |
With the odds stack against her, Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA did an admirable job educating attendees at an "End of Life Options Discussion Panel" sponsored by Hamline Mitchell Law School's Health Law Society in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Thursday evening. ...
The panel was comprised of three supporters of the Minnesota End of Life options Act, and Ms. Dore, who alone stood to expose the language of the bill and the reality of what that language has allowed in Washington State, where Ms. Dore is an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion. Not only was she outnumbered 3 to one on the panel, but pro-assisted death representatives had a fit when Ms. Dore attempted to share documentation for her talk and blocked her from handing it out.
Ms. Dore hammered home points that are often glossed over. When panel members insisted that this bill pertained to "terminal patients with less than 6 months to live," Ms. Dore shared a real encounter she had. "Doctors can be wrong about life expectancy, sometimes way wrong," said Dore. "This is due to actual mistakes and the fact that predicting life expectancy is not an exact science. A few years ago, I was met at the airport by a man who at age 18 had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and given 3 to 5 years to live, at which time he was to die by paralysis. His diagnosis had been confirmed by the Mayo Clinic. When he met me at the airport, he was 74 years old. The disease progression had stopped on its own."
She also shared, "The Act is stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse." Dore elaborated, "The patient's heir, who will financially benefit from the patient's death, is allowed to actively participate in requesting the lethal dose. After that, no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know?"
"But, it gets worse," said Dore, "the death certificate is required to list a medical condition as the cause of death, which prevents prosecution." Dore explained, "The official cause of death is a medical condition (not murder) as a matter of law. For perpetrators, the death certificate is a 'stay out of jail free card.'"
Thank you to Ms. Dore for her tireless fight to stop assisted suicide.
The panel was comprised of three supporters of the Minnesota End of Life options Act, and Ms. Dore, who alone stood to expose the language of the bill and the reality of what that language has allowed in Washington State, where Ms. Dore is an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion. Not only was she outnumbered 3 to one on the panel, but pro-assisted death representatives had a fit when Ms. Dore attempted to share documentation for her talk and blocked her from handing it out.
Ms. Dore hammered home points that are often glossed over. When panel members insisted that this bill pertained to "terminal patients with less than 6 months to live," Ms. Dore shared a real encounter she had. "Doctors can be wrong about life expectancy, sometimes way wrong," said Dore. "This is due to actual mistakes and the fact that predicting life expectancy is not an exact science. A few years ago, I was met at the airport by a man who at age 18 had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and given 3 to 5 years to live, at which time he was to die by paralysis. His diagnosis had been confirmed by the Mayo Clinic. When he met me at the airport, he was 74 years old. The disease progression had stopped on its own."
She also shared, "The Act is stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse." Dore elaborated, "The patient's heir, who will financially benefit from the patient's death, is allowed to actively participate in requesting the lethal dose. After that, no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know?"
"But, it gets worse," said Dore, "the death certificate is required to list a medical condition as the cause of death, which prevents prosecution." Dore explained, "The official cause of death is a medical condition (not murder) as a matter of law. For perpetrators, the death certificate is a 'stay out of jail free card.'"
Thank you to Ms. Dore for her tireless fight to stop assisted suicide.
3)
Margaret Dore Featured by Hope Australia
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| Margaret Dore |
Margaret Dore, an experienced attorney specialising in elder law in Washington State, where assisted suicide is legal, has urged Victorian MPs “to reject the proposed bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.”
Her analysis of the purported "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017," which would legalise euthanasia as well as assisted suicide, can be read in full here.
Dore points out that in “Oregon and Washington State, most people who die under their [assisted suicide] laws are elders, aged 65 or older. This demographic is already an especially at risk group for abuse and financial exploitation. This is true in both the US and Australia.
Her analysis of the purported "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017," which would legalise euthanasia as well as assisted suicide, can be read in full here.
Dore points out that in “Oregon and Washington State, most people who die under their [assisted suicide] laws are elders, aged 65 or older. This demographic is already an especially at risk group for abuse and financial exploitation. This is true in both the US and Australia.
RHODE ISLAND EYEWITNESS NEWS
The chief opponent of legalizing the practice of medication-assisted death in Rhode Isand was not a Rhode Islander, but a lawyer from Washington state named Margaret Dore who runs an organization called Choice is an Illusion.
“Don’t make our mistake,“ Dore told the committee, referring to Washington’s Death with Dignity Act.
She argued that the six-month prognosis is subjective, and patients sometimes live beyond doctors’ expectations. She also said the bill could have unintended consequences, telling a hypothetical story of a son who encourages his terminal father to request the medication “just in case,“ and then persuades or forces him into taking the drug at home.
“Dad dies, and the death certificate will reflect a terminal disease as the cause of death and the son will inherit,“ she said.
To view the entire post, click here.
4) SOUTH AFRICA
Below please find Margaret Dore's expert witness memorandum, prepared for a South Africa court case, Suzanne Walter v. Ministry of Health. See also the comment below from a South African advocate:
A number of the points made by you [Margaret Dore] are incisive and helpful. I found your interpretation of section 27 of the Constitution particularly useful.... The argument will, amongst others, find its way into the final legal argument before the High Court, and the courts that follow.
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