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 […]
Second Thoughts Massachusetts member Ellen Leigh’s excellent letter appeared in the Boston Globe today: Jeff Jacoby’s column “For assistance in dying, please press 1” warns against the legalization of assisted suicide, especially highlighting its significant risks. As a disabled person, I share these concerns deeply. Activists within the disability rights community fear that legalized assisted […]
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 […]
Second Thoughts Massachusetts led a peaceful counter demonstration at a gathering of assisted suicide proponents held at the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, June 5th. In addition to those featured in the photo above, others who participated included Ian McIntosh and Jessica Rodgers of the Patients Rights Action Fund, Harry Weissman, Director of Advocacy for […]
Representatives of Not Dead Yet, Second Thoughts Massachusetts and other people with disabilities testified in opposition to a proposed bill to legalize assisted suicide at a hearing held on October 20th before the Joint Committee on Public Health of the Massachusetts legislature. Witnesses were given only two minutes each for oral testimony and could also submit written […]
Excellent letter in the Berkshire Eagle by Mary Makuc, member of Second Thoughts Massachusetts! To the editor: For people with severe disabilities like me, assisted suicide is not just theoretical but a real social justice issue. If law allowing for assisted suicide is passed in Massachusetts, many people could feel pressured to die. Because of […]
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 […]
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 […]
