A Short History of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Montana

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA                                                                                                          

Assisted suicide means that someone provides the means and/or information for another person to commit suicide.  If a doctor is involved, the practice may be termed physician-assisted suicide.  Euthanasia is the administration of a lethal agent by another person.

A.  Assisted Suicide

In 1895, the Montana Legislature enacted a criminal statute prohibiting assisted suicide as a "crime against the public safety."[1] In 1907, 1921 and 1947, this statute was re-codified, but its text remained unchanged.[2] The statute stated: "Every person who deliberately aids, or advises or encourages another to commit suicide is guilty of a felony."[3]

ADA Will Trump Euthanasia Prohibition

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Bills in New York State seek to pass a medical aid in dying act.[1] "Aid in dying" is a euphemism for active euthanasia, meaning the administration of a lethal agent to another person.[2][3]

The act also prohibits euthanasia, stating:

A health care professional or other person shall not administer the medication [lethal dose] to the patient. (Emphasis added).[4]

This prohibition is, however, unenforceable. This is due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

That’s Not Assisted Suicide, That’s Murder

To view original article, click here

A Montreal couple is calling for disciplinary measures against a psychologist they say counselled one of them to kill the terminally ill other.

When Miranda Edwards was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer she said she was determined to fight it.

“I want to live, I want every medical intervention possible,” she said. “I will fight to the end. I will do every treatment, everything possible to stay alive.”

Washington State Act Must Be Overturned

Click here for pdf version.

Washington State’s Death with Dignity Act was passed by the voters as Initiative1000. During the election, backers touted it as providing "choice" for individuals. A glossy brochure declared, "Only the patient — and no one else — may administer the [lethal dose]." The Act does not say this anywhere.[1]

•  The Act legalized assisted suicide as that term is traditionally defined. In the fine print, the Act allows euthanasia.

Maine: Tell the Legislature to Reject Bill LD 1313; Say "No" to Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Click here for pdf version.

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am an attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.[1] Our law is based on a similar law in Oregon. In the fine print, both laws allow euthanasia. Both laws are similar to the proposed bill, LD 1313.[2]

The proposed bill seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined. If enacted, the bill will apply to people with years or decades to live. Individuals with money, meaning the middle class and above, will be especially at risk. I urge you to reject LD 1313.

Press Release: Maine Death with Dignity Bill Will Create a Perfect Crime

AUGUSTA, MAINE, UNITED STATES

Dore: “The proposed bill is a recipe for abuse, exploitation and legal murder.”

“Persons assisting a suicide or performing a euthanasia can have an agenda to benefit themselves.”

Contact: Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

(206) 697-1217

Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization efforts in many states, and now Maine, made the following statement in connection with a scheduled hearing on a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state. (Bill LD 1313 , H.P. 948). Hearing Wednesday, 04/10/19, 9:00 A.M., Joint Committee on Health & Human Services, Cross Building, Room 209, State Capitol, Augusta Maine.

American Nursing Association's Draft Position Statement Regarding Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Is "Misleading and Dangerous"

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

The ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board is seeking public comment on a proposed position statement, "The Nurse's Role When a Patient Requests Aid in Dying."

"Aid in Dying" is a traditional euphemism for assisted suicide and euthanasia. The first paragraph of the proposed statement is set forth below, followed by my responding submission.

To New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy: Veto Flawed Euthanasia Act (Bill A. 1504 Second Reprint)

Governor Murphy

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

To view pdf version, click here

1.  The Act 

The Act legalizes “aid in dying,” a traditional euphemism for active euthanasia.[1] The Act is based on similar laws in Oregon and Washington State.

2.  Pushback Against Assisted Suicide       and Euthanasia

In the last ten years, nine states have strengthened their laws against assisted suicide and/or euthanasia: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Utah.[2]

Connecticut: Division of Criminal Justice Opposes Death Certificate Falsification

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TESTIMONY OF THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

H.B. No. 5898 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING AID IN DYING FOR TERMINALLY ILL PATIENTS.

JOINT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH
March 18, 2019

The Division of Criminal Justice takes no position on the concept of H.B. No. 5898, An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients, but must raise the same concerns that we brought to the Joint Committee on Judiciary when similar legislation was proposed in 2015 (H.B. No. 7015). We state again, as we did then, that the bill as now written could have unintended and very unwelcome consequences.

Press Release: Proposed Bill Will Create a Perfect Crime

Dore: “The bill seeks to legalize ‘aid in dying,’ which is a traditional euphemism for active euthanasia.”

Contact: Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

(206) 697-1217

Hartford, CT - Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which has fought assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization efforts in many states and now Connecticut, made the following statement in connection with a legislative hearing on a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in that state. (Committee Bill 5898, hearing Monday, 03/18/19, 10:30 A.M., Public Health Committee, Legislative Office Building, Room 1D). 

Florida: Sisters Arrested After Admitting They 'Euthanized' Father, Sold Home for $120,000 Profit

Nicole Darrah, Fox News

Click here to read entire article.

Two sisters were arrested in Florida on Tuesday for allegedly admitting to law enforcement that they killed their father as part of a "premeditated" act four years ago because he refused to enter an assisted living facility.

Mary-Beth Tomaselli, 63, and Linda Roberts, 62, were taken into custody after they detailed to a male confidant whom they befriended in recent months what they had seemingly done, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters on Tuesday.

Nevada: Patient Protections Are Mere Window Dressing to Lull the Public Into Accepting Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA.*

Nevada's pending euthanasia bill, S.B. 165, sets forth patient protections in sections 3 through 29, described as “safeguards, procedures, written requirements and reporting functions.”[1] The bill also repeatedly says that actions are to be done in “accordance” with the provisions of sections 3 through 29.[2] For example, the bill states:

Death resulting from a patient self-administering a controlled substance that is designed to end his or her life in accordance with the provisions of sections 3 to 29, inclusive, of this act does not constitute suicide or homicide. (Emphasis added).[3]

Federal Palliative Care Euthanasia Bill Moving

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

On January 17, 2019, the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act" was introduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No text was provided.

The Congressional website has since been updated with the posting of a complete bill, which is identical, or nearly identical, to last session's H.R. 1676, as amended. (The companion bill was S. 693).

Utah Bill Legalizing Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia Likely Dead for 2019

Click here to view source article.

by Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor - Utah Policy.Com

A Democratic-sponsored, end of life bill is, for now, dead in the Utah Legislature.

The House Rules Committee, voting along partisan lines, refused Thursday to allow HB121 to be heard by a standing committee – thus killing the bill unless at a later date Rules members change their minds....

Unless House Democrats can get enough floor votes to lift HB121 from Rules (not likely), or unless Republicans on Rules change their minds (that could happen), end of life legislation is dead in the 2019 Legislature, before the first week is even over. 

US "Palliative" Care Act has Been Reintroduced

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

The "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," formerly S. 693 and H.R. 1676, has been reintroduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647. I did not see a Senate version. The full text is not yet available.

The prior Act, if passed into law, would have undermined the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG's) mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See https://www.choiceillusion.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-committee-on-health.html The Act was also a "springing" or closet euthanasia bill:

New Site Opposing Closet Euthanasia

Today, Choice is an Illusion formally announces the launching of  "End the Abuse," a website opposed to palliative care and hospice abuse.

The site specifically addresses problems with the closet euthanasia act proposed in last year's 115th Congress, the so-called "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act."

We hope that you find the site helpful.

Federal Closet Euthanasia Act May Be Moving

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Five days ago, an op-ed appeared in the New York Post advocating for Congressional passage of the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act."[1] The Act has not been introduced in the current (116th) Congress.[2] There are, however, rumors that it will be or that passage will occur by packaging it with other legislation. With the appearance of the op-ed, the veracity of these rumors is well founded.

The Act was introduced in the last (115th) Congress as H.R. 1676 and S. 693. Its stated purpose was to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care. The Act easily passed the House on a voice vote.[3]

There was and is, however, a catch.

US Euthanasia Bill All But Dead - For Now

Margaret Dore &
Dawn Eskew

This year, the US Congress considered the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," bills H.R. 1676 and S. 693. The Act seeks to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care.

The Act was viewed as noncontroversial. Indeed, H.R. 1676 passed the House on a voice vote without opposition.

There is, however, a catch.

This is because US euthanasia advocates are currently promoting "medical aid in dying" (euthanasia) as "palliative care."[1] There is a similar situation in Canada, where "lobbies are trying to influence the government to include so-called Medical Aid in Dying ... in palliative care."[2]

The significance is this: If the Act is passed into law and the above advocacy efforts are successful, medical aid in dying (euthanasia) will become part of palliative care and therefore part of the Act. More to the point, the Act will legalize and also finance euthanasia in government funded centers throughout the US. The Act is a closet or "springing" euthanasia bill.

Dore Memo to New Zealand Justice Committee: Reject End of Life Choice Bill

Click here to view a pdf version, including supporting documentation. Click the following link to view Choice Illusion New Zealand.

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] I am also an attorney in Washington State USA where these practices are legal.[2] Our law is based on a similar law in Oregon.[3]

My background includes providing legal analysis and/or testimony against assisted suicide and euthanasia, in 22 US states, South Africa and Australia. I have participated in public debates as well as public interest litigation.

The “End of Life Choice Bill” seeks to legalize assisted dying, which means assisted suicide and euthanasia.[4] If enacted, the bill will apply to people with years or decades to live, and provide cover for murder. I urge you to recommend to Parliament to reject this bill.

Patient-Directed Suicide Has Morphed into Family-Determined Suicide

Thomas Eppes, M.D.

To view original article, click here.

Recently the effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide has ramped up in Virginia. For 2,500 years, medicine has claimed the role of healer, but this dangerous public policy would change that by requiring a doctor’s participation in a patient’s demise .

Patients should never be conflicted about which role their physician plays.