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Death with Dignity Act: Compassion and Choices (formerly The Hemlock Society) and the Death With Dignity Center, operating together under the alias “Dignity 2012,”  have put forward and are seeking approval for the so-called Death with Dignity Act (HB 3884) that would legalize doctor prescribed suicide (DPS) in Massachusetts.  They gathered 70,000 signatures on a petition to ask the legislature to act on the measure. Hearings on the proposed law were held at the statehouse on March 6 at which proponents and opponents testified. Over 40 people came out to testify against DPS including Dr. Lynda Young, president of the Mass. Medical Society.

If the legislature fails to take action on the bill, as expected, DPS supporters (officially known as Dignity 2012) will need to collect 11,485 additional voter signatures between the beginning of May and July 3rd. This will enable them to place the “Death with Dignity Act” as a ballot initiative on the ballot in the election November 6, 2012. This has been the plan of the “Death with Dignity” folks from the beginning–to have DPS go before the voters where they feel they have the best chance of success.

The folks at Dignity 2012 are following the same playbook as was used in Oregon and Washington State where ballot initiatives successfully legalized DPS. Oregon’s Measure 16 was approved in November, 1994 with 51.3% cast in favor and 48.7% against. Washington State legalized DPS when voters approved Initiative 1000 in the November, 2008 general election, 57.8% in favor and 42.2% against.

A Dangerous Idea: As physicians and health care professionals we know that Doctor Prescribed Suicide goes against our basic principles as healers. We know that Doctor Prescribed Suicide is a dangerous idea. This proposed law is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, being promoted as a compassionate alternative for those suffering at the end of life.

Not Massachusetts: Physician-assisted suicide has already been legalized in Oregon and Washington state. Physicians in those states tell us they now realize the great danger of assisted suicide. Let’s keep this dangerous practice out of Massachusetts.

Join the Fight: Let us, as health care professionals, join together to fight this dangerous idea that would harm the most vulnerable in our society and do irreparable harm to the doctor-patient relationship.

We can win this battle, but we must do it together.  Use the form below to sign up for the effort.  Next, go to our Learn More section (in the sidebar on the right) and Resources page to educate yourself and others.

DONATIONS:  To fight Assisted Suicide will take money. As the saying goes, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Please consider donating to this effort (click here). We really need your financial help to succeed.

“I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asks for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” —from the Oath of Hippocrates

"We're able to hold down healthcare costs through assisted suicide."

Top 6 Reasons Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal

  1. Because it provides a financial incentive for premature deaths.
    Since it’s always cheaper to give a patient a suicide pill than to provide real care, imagine the financial incentives prescribed suicide offers to HMOs, government payers, insurance companies and heirs.
  2. Because it invites pressure and coercion.
    While measures require paper forms and stipulate that suicide requests be “made voluntarily,” subtle pressure and even outright coercion at the bedside of vulnerable patients are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to detect and prosecute. Pressure-producing statements whispered at beside may cause Grandma to feel guilty about “burdening loved ones.” Grandpa may take suicide cues from a physician’s comment about healthcare costs. The “right to die” quickly morphs into the “duty to die.”
  3. Because it covers up abuse.
    The only statistical indicators of Oregon’s assisted suicides are dutifully trotted out by state bureaucrats in a bare-bones annual report. By clever mandate of law, “the information collected shall not be a public record and may not be made available for inspection by the public.” Violators are expected to self-report. No penalties are provided for non-reporting. No watchdogs or media can review even redacted records. The government only reviews a sampling of records, does not verify their accuracy and subsequently destroys the records.
  4. Because doctor-prescribed suicide is not needed.
    Under existing law, every patient and/ or his designated decision-maker has the right to refuse prolonging life by artificial means. No one has to linger indefinitely when natural causes would lead to death. It is ethically acceptable to refuse or discontinue futile treatments.
  5. Because it would destroy the doctor-patient relationship.
    The most fundamental part of a doctor-patient relationship is trust. If doctor-prescribed suicide were legal, patients wouldn’t know if the doctor’s ultimate motive was to heal them or end their life. The doctor’s duty is to kill the pain – not the patient.
  6. Because of the vulnerability of socially marginalized groups.
    No matter how carefully any guidelines for doctor-prescribed suicide are framed, the practice will pose the greatest risk for those who suffer because of social inequality and bias, the poor, and the marginalized.