Thanks for taking action against legalizing assisted suicide in MA! Please use the following template to send an email to legislators on the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing by following the three easy steps below:
1. Decide who to send your letter to. You can send it to all committee members or to leadership members. Here are the email addresses for each leadership member of the committee, as well as the town(s) they represent:
Senator Cindy Friedman, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing: Cindy.Friedman@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1432. Representing Woburn, Arlington, Lexington, Burlington, and Billerica.
Senator Harriette Chandler, Senate Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing: Harriette.Chandler@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1544. Representing Boylston, Clinton, Holden, Northborough, Princeton and West Boylston, and Worcester.
Rep. John Lawn, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing: John.Lawn@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2430. Newton, Waltham, Watertown.
Rep. Jay Livingstone, House Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing: Jay.Livingstone@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2575. Parts of Boston and Cambridge.
2. Copy and paste the letter below into an email. Be sure to change the details highlighted in yellow to match your own personal details! Feel free to add any relevant personal anecdotes as well, but try to keep the letter fairly short overall.
3. Send the emails! When you’re done, please fill out this quick Google Form so we can track how many people are sending emails about this.
BONUS: Check out our Social Media Action Guide for post templates and graphics that you can use to encourage others to take action as well!
That’s it! You’ve done it! Thank you SO much!
SUBJECT: Protecting the Lives of Disabled Massachusetts Residents
Dear NAME,
I am a resident of [TOWN] writing to urge you to oppose the passage of S.1384 / H.2381 , An Act Relative To End of Life Options. Legalizing assisted suicide, also referred to as medical aid in dying, will result in the coercion, endangerment and unnecessary death of too many Massachusetts residents with disabilities.
Many people considering assisted suicide are not doing so because of unmanaged pain, but because of societal stigma against disability, also referred to as “ableism”. A 2021 report about the use of assisted suicide in Oregon, where it has been legal since 1997, finds that the 5 most common reported reasons patients consider assisted suicide have nothing to do with pain, but with the “loss of dignity” and lack of access to social activities thought to result from disabling conditions. This means that our legislative priorities should not revolve around expediting the death of patients with serious illnesses or disabilities, but around making Massachusetts a more accepting and accessible place for disabled people and improving access to palliative care and pain management so that death does not seem a better option than life.
Additionally, everyone is vulnerable to suggestion and persuasion. Nothing prevents self-interested family membersand medical professionals from pushing for assisted suicide. Meanwhile, it is estimated that 1 in 10 Massachusetts older adults are abused every year, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated this issue. Nothing in the law can stop an heir or abusive caregiver from steering someone towards assisted suicide, witnessing the request, picking up the lethal dose, and even administering the drug — no witnesses are required at the death.
Finally, assisted suicide laws lead to the denial of suicide prevention services to seriously ill and disabled people, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act’s guarantee of equal program access. Assisted suicide laws redefine depression and feeling like
a burden as “rational,” rather than as evidence of impairment or need for intervention, as they would be for a non-disabled person. This means that sick and disabled people living with depression may be encouraged to consider assisted suicide under the same conditions that a non-disabled person would be offered mental health resources.
In conclusion, legalizing assisted suicide in Massachusetts will further endanger the lives of an already vulnerable population. No amount of “safeguards” in the bill will protect disabled residents from dying prematurely if assisted suicide becomes legal in our cost-conscious healthcare system. I urge you to prevent this bill from moving further in the legislative process.
