Testimony of Jules Good, Policy Analyst, Not Dead Yet

Hello members of the committee. My name is Jules Good, I use they/them pronouns, and I am a multiply disabled person and disability policy professional testifying in opposition to these bills. We would all like to believe that our health care system is set up to provide everyone with the best care possible, but this is simply not the case. Well-documented health disparities for Black, Brown, Indigenous, poor, LGBTQ+, and disabled people are a result of centuries of systemic discrimination. Just because proponents claim to have “looked” for instances of abuse and didn’t find them doesn’t mean they don’t exist, as reports from the National Council on Disability and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund as well as opposition from dozens of national disability rights organizations will tell you. In a system that denies quality care to so many, passing a bill that treats death as a viable health care option will result in lives lost needlessly.

I would first like to point out that many disabilities and illnesses can become terminal if not treated properly. There is a huge difference between a well-insured person having the privilege of exhausting every available treatment option before expressing a desire to die, and someone without that privilege being repeatedly denied care until death is their only option. Bodily autonomy must be available to everybody. When marginalized people are forced to choose between suffering and death because they can’t afford or access care, they are not getting a real choice. This bill makes steering those people toward death a protected act, even if that is not its intent.

So what do we do instead to alleviate suffering across the board? We should fully fund home and community based services and ensure that the full spectrum of palliative care is available to people in their own homes so they do not feel like assisted suicide is the only way to die peacefully in the setting of their choice. This would also increase access to curative care for people who can benefit from it and reduce the odds that someone will die a preventable death. Passing this bill would be an infected band aid on a gaping wound. Massachusetts can do better. Thank you.