Over the past month or so, we’ve shared some press coverage that included some of our board members. It seems like it’s as good a time as any to share some of the NDY-related activity that some of our board members have engaged in recently. This is not a complete list – we’ll try to share some updates later on the rest of the board. For more info on our board members, check out this link.
On November 24th, Yonkers Voice published this extended interview with Mike Volkman. Mike shared information about growing up disabled in a world filled with barriers. The brief bio serves as a context to help explain the opposition to legalized assisted suicide that he, Not Dead Yet, and disability activists maintain:
On December 3, DebateOut published extended interviews with board Member Samantha Crane and NDY Regional Director John Kelly. The interviews are parts of a larger back and forth that also features interviews with Philosophy professor Elizabeth Picciuto, bioethicist Art Caplan, and NY Compassion and Choices’ Ex. Dir. David Leven. The article features internal links to the full interviews. The link to Samantha Crane’s full interview is here. The link to John Kelly’s full interview is here.
Board member Bill Peace continues to address any and all disability issues at his blog Bad Cripple. He’s written about Brittany Maynard here, here and here in recent months.
Board member Robin Stephens has been traveling, educating and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with the ADA Legacy Tour Bus.
That’s all for now, but much more coming on what we are up to – NDY staff, board and activists all keeping up the fight against the pro-assisted suicide movement.
It is very important for the Disability Community to be out there educating the public about the dangers of “assisted suicide” for the most vulnerable in our society; i.e. the disabled, the elderly, the poor, the mentally ill. I have read the testimony of John Kelly and Samantha Drake and I agree 100% with their remarks.
These are dangerous times for the most vulnerable in our country on the safety nets of Medicare/Medicaid because The Congress, under both political parties, have been transitioning “fee for service Medicare and Medicaid” into “managed care” and “managed death” reimbursement protocols on behalf of Big Insurance who has
ded Medicare/Medicaid to earn record profits for themselves and their shareholders.
We didn’t get to vote on this and as Medicare/Medicaid becomes a Health Maintenance Organization, dominated by private big insurance, there is no doubt that curative care for the disabled and the elderly, etc.. will be withheld under “managed care” and managed death reimbursement principles that ensure the profit margins of Big Insurance who have invaded our safety nets. .
We see by the trial taking place this year on “original Medicare Patients” with Heart Trouble, Cancer, COPD, or AIDS that CMS is looking to extend the definition of “terminal” from six months to a year, or more? as a cost saving mechanism. If the law is changed by The Congress and CMS to make Hospice mandatory rather than optional, what recourse will patients have when curative care is denied under managed care principles? Will they be forced into Hospice and offered a lethal prescription in those states with assisted suicide laws?
Obviously, since “physician assisted suicide” with the legal and lethal prescription written by a licensed physician of the state is the cheapest and less expensive and less burdensome action for all of the parties involved, this action will be pushed to patients. This is especially true when CMS and Advantage Insurers will deny payment for curative care. under reimbursement protocols already in effect and that will be passed in the future under the ACA.
If Assisted Suicide with the legal and lethal prescription is good public policy, why doesn’t the physician oversee the suicide? But, of course, under the law, if the physician who prescribes the prescription is present, he could be charged with “euthanasia” which is a crime under US law.
The slippery slope is already here and will they be lining up the elderly/disabled/poor/mentally ill for a ride?