Yesterday, I wrote about Good Morning America‘s fawning rollout of John West and his memoir, “The Last Goodnights.” In the book, he claims to have facilitated/aided the suicides of both his father and mother about ten years ago.
It turns out that West’s lone publicity tour is looking more like a bandwagon. Today, I found out that the site “medicalnewstoday.com” published an “article” that looks an awful lot like a press release from Compassion & Choices, the largest U.S. organization devoted to promoting legalization of assisted suicide.
Given the claims of Mr. West regarding his parents’ deaths, there are some “interesting” statements by C & C’s President, Barbara Coombs-Lee:
“Society must address the need for expanded end of life choice,” said Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee. “No family member should have to risk prosecution, as Mr. West has. Aid in dying should be the final option on a continuum of legal medical decisions. Failing to legalize and regulate aid in dying only encourages an unsafe, underground practice. State legislatures should step up to their responsibility and meet the needs of their citizens. This family’s difficult situation arises directly from California’s failure to enact a Death with Dignity law.”
“As a wealthy, resourceful lawyer Mr. West was able to obtain potent medication and help his parents die well. Most families are not so lucky, and the law in 47 states discriminates against them. Legalization offers equal access and the protection of skilled clinicians and an open procedure. Only an open, transparent and legal practice gives people the equal opportunity to explore all options and die on their own terms,” said Lee.
Let’s unpack the claims here. Coombs-Lee is implying that the laws in Oregon and the recently passed Washington referendum would have prevented the “need” for the private suicides claimed in West’s memoir.
Again, if what West has written is true, it’s possible his father could have gone to a physician in Oregon and obtained his own prescription, legally.
But West also claims to have assisted in the suicide of his mother, who had been recently diagnosed with alzheimer’s. His mother would be ineligible for a legal prescription in Oregon and would be under the statute that will be in effect in Washington State?
I guess there are several ways to interpret Coombs-Lee’s statements here. She could simply be deliberately misleading a largely misinformed public and press about the actual impact of an Oregon-type law for people such as West’s mother. Maybe she’s signalling that doctors aren’t really that rigourous about adhering to the “strict guidelines” for eligibility.
Or maybe she’s signalling the next step in assisted suicide advocacy by her organization – opening up “eligibility” for lethal prescriptions to a wider spectrum of old, ill and disabled people.
Come to think of it, maybe all three explanations are correct. –Stephen Drake
I think you’re twisting the facts here. Compassion and Choices wants to see legislation that will make people able to make their own choices about when to die, so that underground practices such as that used by West will be unnecessary.
Suzan
Suzan,
I’m not twisting facts, just going by what Compassion and Choices claims its legislative goals are.
West’s mother was in the early stages of alzheimer’s. There is no way that she would be “eligible” for “help” under Oregon law. If she wanted to kill herself with help at that stage, she still would have turned to ask someone to help her illegally.
For Coombs-Lee to suggest that the advocacy of C & C wants to help people like West avoid running afoul of the law suggests she’s playing the public for suckers – by deliberately misrepresenting the facts – or subtly signalling C & C is ready to push for more expansive assisted suicide laws. —Stephen
It’s clear to me that the point of Barbara’s comments about Mr. West’s book is that current law makes criminals out of friends and family members who are desperately trying to do what their loved one is requesting — helping them to have a peaceful, dignified death. Had California’s Death with Dignity legislation passed, Mr. West and his parents would have had ready access and information about a variety of options for fulfilling their request. He and his mother would have been told that, while the legislation could not be used in an Alzheimer’s situation, his mother could, while still competent, add a “Dementia” clause to her Advanced Directive so that she was not forced to eat or drink once she had forgotten how to. Another option to explore with a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is to voluntarily stop eating and drinking before he or she becomes incompetent. Death with Dignity legislation leads to open discussion about ALL options for the dying process, not just physician assisted dying. By pretending that assisted dying is not happening, by keeping it illegal, we increase its improper application and likely its frequency. Perhaps worse, its illegality adds to the confusion and emotional pain of patients and their loved ones. Me thinks thou dost protest too much, Stephen.
Pat
Anonymous Pat,
Thanks ever so much for sharing the C & C talking points here.
It’s still BS. I guess you assume this still presumably competent, educated woman wasn’t aware that she could starve/dehydrate. She already had that ability and that right.
If her son’s account is true (and we have only his word), she wasn’t interested in going through the process of dementia, so the advance directive idea probably wouldn’t have had much appeal to her.
Not that they spent that much time talking about it, even by his own account. –Stephen Drake
Hey Anonymous,
Perhaps you should voluntarily stop eating and drinking since YOU are clearly incompetent.