Maryland: New Factually-Impaired Op-Ed from Final Exit Network – and My Response

On Monday, June 7, the Baltimore Sun published a commentary by Jerry Dincin, the current president of the Final Exit Network (FEN).  You never know what a FEN member is going to write – sometimes they make it sound like they only deal with “terminally ill” people, sometimes they claim to give only “advice,” – they’re kind of all over the board in terms of what they’ve written and said over the past year.

In this particular case, Dincin was pretty open about who FEN “helps” — anyone with “unbearable pain and indignity” is the phrase used this time.  Dincin also makes the case for providing suicide assistance for people with dementia in this article – which makes me wonder if FEN and “Conflation & Con Jobs” aka “Compassion & Choices” might be coordinating their public outreach strategies.

Here are a few factually-challenged items from the end of the essay titled “Death with dignity“:

Who are those who have the heart to consign these people to a living hell? If the patient were their mother, would they? Do we not have a moral obligation to spare these patients and their families unspeakable torment?

We as a society do indeed have that power, and it is time we gathered in numbers and exercised it. That’s where my organization, Final Exit Network, comes in. We provide information and counsel to patients who approach us seeking to deliver themselves from torture and make informed choices. The impetus comes from within them; we do not “encourage” anyone. We go to great lengths to ensure that the person is capable of choosing rationally.

What we do is wholly different from physician-assisted suicide, since we never supply any equipment or administer any lethal chemicals. We are careful to keep our efforts within the law. That, however, has not prevented some local governments, notably Georgia and Arizona, from persecuting many of my colleagues — including our former medical director, Dr. Egbert.

Ending a life of unbearable pain and indignity is a basic human right. We at Final Exit Network provide compassion in the form of information and empathy, and we are proud of our work.

I read that, took some anti-nausea medication, and typed off a “comment” for the online copy of Dincin’s piece.

Then I reworked it and submitted it as a “reader comment” aka “letter to the editor.”  It was accepted and published online.  I am told that it was published on the Opinion page of the print edition of the Sun today (June 9).

Here is my response to the latest FEN propaganda piece:

As the research analyst for a national disability rights group that opposes legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, I am all too familiar with the Final Exit Network (FEN). I think it’s important that readers – and the editors – know that Jerry Dincin misled readers on several points in his essay published on June 7 (“Death with dignity”).

Mr. Dincin claims that authorities are “persecuting” FEN members in Georgia and Arizona. That is a gross distortion. The authorities in Georgia and Arizona initiated investigations after complaints by concerned relatives that the apparent suicides of their loved ones were aided and encouraged by FEN members. That’s not “persecution” — it’s “doing your job.”

In Georgia, the undercover agent who investigated FEN posing as a cancer patient asserted he was never asked for his medical records. Further, he reported that he was told that part of the “help” he would be given involved a FEN “exit guide” holding his hands down to prevent him from removing the helium-filled plastic bag meant to cause his death.

In Arizona, the person “helped” was a woman with no serious physical problems — but who had a history of emotional difficulties. Mr. Dincin didn’t mention that two of the defendants in that case have entered into a plea bargain and agreed to testify against other FEN members — including Larry Egbert.

The man “helped” in Georgia was a man successfully treated for cancer, and who was depressed over the surgical alterations to his physical appearance. Autopsy found him to be cancer-free.

Search for op-eds by FEN members and you’ll find the claims that members make about their goals, methods and “clients” to vary widely — apparently, they can’t keep their stories straight. The journalists at the paper might want to actually do some research and reporting on this case before giving the group a bully pulpit here.

People who follow this blog might notice that I mention two defendants entering into a plea bargain agreement when only one has been mentioned here.

My apologies for failing to report this until now, but one more of the FEN defendants has indeed cut a deal.  It should make for an “interesting” trial. –Stephen Drake