Our incomparable disability rights champion, beloved colleague and friend. It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of NDY’s singularly dear colleague and incomparable disability rights champion, John Bryan Kelly, who passed away peacefully in Boston, this past Friday, November 14, 2025, at the age of 67. In spite of battling an […]
Liz Carr’s documentary, “Better Off Dead?”, continues making a difference, serving as a wake up call about the dangers assisted suicide laws pose for people with disabilities. A Boston Globe columnist noted this week: The most chilling detail in “Better Off Dead?” a new BBC documentary by the English actress and comedian Liz Carr, is […]
Today, Anita Cameron testified via online access to oppose Minnesota’s assisted suicide bill while John Kelly and Diane Coleman submitted written testimony to the MN House of Representatives Health Finance and Policy Committee. Below are excerpts from each and their names links to their full testimonies. Anita Cameron Research has documented Black, Asian, and Hispanic […]
Disability Rights Advocates Cheer High Court Constitutional Ruling Against Assisted Suicide CONTACTS: John Kelly at mailto:SecondThoughtsKelly@Gmail.com 617-952-3302 Jules Good (mailto:JGood@NotDeadYet.org) Boston, MA – Tuesday, December 20, 2022 Disability rights advocates from Second Thoughts MA and Not Dead Yet are cheering Monday’s decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), which ruled against plaintiff doctors Roger Kligler and […]
Following the precedent in the U. S. Supreme Court and several state high courts, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in the Kligler case, rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim that assisted suicide is a constitutional right. “Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all end-of-life decisions, after careful consideration, we conclude that the […]
Boston Globe photo caption and credit: Disability-rights advocate John Kelly, director of Second Thoughts Massachusetts, at his Fenway apartment. The group opposes what it calls “assisted suicide.” Barry Chin/Globe Staff Voices from the ‘right to die’ debate By Robert Weisman Globe Staff,Updated December 11, 2022, 5:20 p.m. In anticipation of the upcoming reintroduction of an assisted […]
***MEDIA ADVISORY*** Disability Rights Advocates Gather at SJC to Defend Disabled Lives Boston, MA – Thursday, October 13 at 12 PM, Second Thoughts MA: Disability Rights Advocates Against Assisted Suicide and Not Dead Yet will gather outside the Supreme Judicial Court at the John Adams Courthouse to remind the SJC and the public that the issue of […]
The Answer Is Not Medically Assisted Suicide – Disabled People Demand Full Civil, Human Rights [Note: The hyperlink above leads to a PDF image scan of the article and the page it appears on. The full, screen reader accessible text of the article is below.] The Quincy Sun, August 18, 2022 38 years ago an […]
Join Patients Rights Action Fund‘s next webinar! This webinar will feature prominent disability advocates discussing the implications of assisted suicide legislation on medical discrimination against people with disabilities. In a stellar lineup, speakers Lydia Brown, John Kelly, Vincenzo Piscopo, and our own Ian McIntosh will collaboratively explore the impact that assisted suicide laws have on the […]
From WGBH, Boston’s PBS station: “Proponents of medical aid in dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide, say it can offer a peaceful death to those who are terminally ill. Critics say the process is unfairly stacked against people with disabilities. The two sides debated with Liz Neisloss on Greater Boston.” An article samples quotes from the […]
