Dear Assemblymembers:
I have been a cancer doctor in Oregon for 49 years. I am opposed to legalized assisted suicide.
It encourages people to prematurely throw away their lives. The California bill ABX-15 is modeled after the Oregon law. It applies to people predicted to have less than six months to live. That does not necessarily mean that they are dying.
Fifteen years ago I had a patient with inoperable anal cancer who wanted assisted suicide for herself, and who was refusing radiation and chemotherapy. Because she was refusing treatment she was eligible for assisted suicide. I encouraged her to be treated, which she later agreed to, and now she is very alive and happy 15 years later.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Dore: "Legal assisted-suicide can be traumatic for patients and tear families apart”
Dear Assemblymembers:
I am a lawyer in Washington State where assisted-suicide is legal. Our law is similar to a law in Oregon. Both laws are similar to ABX2-15, scheduled for hearing tomorrow.
I had two clients whose fathers signed up for assisted-suicide. In the first case, one side of the family wanted the father to take the lethal dose, while the other did not. The father spent the last months of his life caught in the middle and traumatized over whether or not he should kill himself. My client, his adult daughter, was also traumatized. The father did not take the lethal dose and died a natural death.
In the other case, it's not clear that administration of the lethal dose was voluntary. A man who was present told my client that the client’s father refused to take the lethal dose when it was delivered (“You’re not killing me. I’m going to bed”), but then he took it the next night when he was high on alcohol.
Legal assisted-suicide can be traumatic for patients and tear families apart.
I am a lawyer in Washington State where assisted-suicide is legal. Our law is similar to a law in Oregon. Both laws are similar to ABX2-15, scheduled for hearing tomorrow.
I had two clients whose fathers signed up for assisted-suicide. In the first case, one side of the family wanted the father to take the lethal dose, while the other did not. The father spent the last months of his life caught in the middle and traumatized over whether or not he should kill himself. My client, his adult daughter, was also traumatized. The father did not take the lethal dose and died a natural death.
In the other case, it's not clear that administration of the lethal dose was voluntary. A man who was present told my client that the client’s father refused to take the lethal dose when it was delivered (“You’re not killing me. I’m going to bed”), but then he took it the next night when he was high on alcohol.
Legal assisted-suicide can be traumatic for patients and tear families apart.
Kate Kelly: “Doctors are already abusing the power they have."
Dear Assemblymembers:
Please vote "No"on ABX2-15 (assisted suicide/euthanasia). Doctors are already abusing the power they have. This bill, which will give doctors even more power to medically kill patients, can only make a bad situation worse.
In 2009, my mother died after a young doctor encouraged my brother, who held power of attorney, to begin “comfort care.” My mother, who was NOT DYING, had had a mild stroke. She had been trying to speak and had indicated that she would like some water. Instead, on the order of this doctor, she was medically killed (starved and dehydrated, with massive doses of morphine).
In that same year, I published my mother’s story . Since then, I have been contacted by other adult children in the US and Canada whose parents were involuntarily killed via starvation, dehydration and overdose..
These involuntary deaths of people who were not dying are not isolated incidents.
Please vote "No"on ABX2-15 (assisted suicide/euthanasia). Doctors are already abusing the power they have. This bill, which will give doctors even more power to medically kill patients, can only make a bad situation worse.
In 2009, my mother died after a young doctor encouraged my brother, who held power of attorney, to begin “comfort care.” My mother, who was NOT DYING, had had a mild stroke. She had been trying to speak and had indicated that she would like some water. Instead, on the order of this doctor, she was medically killed (starved and dehydrated, with massive doses of morphine).
In that same year, I published my mother’s story . Since then, I have been contacted by other adult children in the US and Canada whose parents were involuntarily killed via starvation, dehydration and overdose..
These involuntary deaths of people who were not dying are not isolated incidents.
Elizabeth Poiana to California Assembly: "“Older people are no longer valued.”
Dear Assemblymembers:
I am a college student in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.
My mother is a caregiver. I also work as a caregiver for typically older people.
I am writing to tell you about how older people are now at risk in Washington State, from doctors and hospitals. I will also talk about how attitudes about older people have changed for the worse. This is especially true since our assisted-suicide law was passed in 2008.
I am a college student in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.
My mother is a caregiver. I also work as a caregiver for typically older people.
I am writing to tell you about how older people are now at risk in Washington State, from doctors and hospitals. I will also talk about how attitudes about older people have changed for the worse. This is especially true since our assisted-suicide law was passed in 2008.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Updated California Materials Against ABX2-15
To view new materials against ABX2-15, seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide, click here.
If the document is "too big," click here and here for the memo and its appendix as separate documents.
ABX2-15, the “End of Life Option Act,” seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide in California is a recipe for elder abuse. The bill is not limited to people who are dying. Indeed, “eligible” persons can have years, even decades, to live.
In Oregon, which has a similar law, that state’s Medicaid program uses coverage incentives to steer people to suicide. If ABX2-15 is enacted, California’s Medicaid program, as well as private insurers, will be able to engage in this same conduct. Do you want this to happen to you or your family?
The bill has a myriad of other problems. Please vote “No” on ABX2-15.
If the document is "too big," click here and here for the memo and its appendix as separate documents.
Overview
ABX2-15, the “End of Life Option Act,” seeking to legalize physician-assisted suicide in California is a recipe for elder abuse. The bill is not limited to people who are dying. Indeed, “eligible” persons can have years, even decades, to live.
In Oregon, which has a similar law, that state’s Medicaid program uses coverage incentives to steer people to suicide. If ABX2-15 is enacted, California’s Medicaid program, as well as private insurers, will be able to engage in this same conduct. Do you want this to happen to you or your family?
The bill has a myriad of other problems. Please vote “No” on ABX2-15.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Prosecutor Press Release on FEN Sentencing in Minnesota; Charges Still Pending.
Final Exit Network, Inc. Sentenced in Assisting with Suicide.
8/24/15
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that Final Exit Network, Inc. (FEN) was sentenced today by Judge Christian Wilton to a stay of execution of 21 months in prison (while a corporate entity cannot be sent to prison, under Minnesota law this sanction establishes that the offense is a felony) and 15 years of probation, and ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 and approximately $3,000 in restitution in connection with assisting Doreen Dunn in committing suicide on May 30, 2007, at her home in Apple Valley. FEN will remain on probation until the fine and restitution is paid. On May 14, 2015, a Dakota County Jury found Final Exit Network, Inc. guilty of Assisting Another to Commit Suicide and Interference with a Dead Body or Death Scene.
Additional facts pertaining to this case can be found online at: Criminal Complaint Search. To view prior news releases, go to: Attorney News Releases.
8/24/15
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that Final Exit Network, Inc. (FEN) was sentenced today by Judge Christian Wilton to a stay of execution of 21 months in prison (while a corporate entity cannot be sent to prison, under Minnesota law this sanction establishes that the offense is a felony) and 15 years of probation, and ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 and approximately $3,000 in restitution in connection with assisting Doreen Dunn in committing suicide on May 30, 2007, at her home in Apple Valley. FEN will remain on probation until the fine and restitution is paid. On May 14, 2015, a Dakota County Jury found Final Exit Network, Inc. guilty of Assisting Another to Commit Suicide and Interference with a Dead Body or Death Scene.
Additional facts pertaining to this case can be found online at: Criminal Complaint Search. To view prior news releases, go to: Attorney News Releases.
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