As readers of this blog know, there is currently a drive in Massachusetts to put legalization of assisted suicide on the ballot next fall. Naturally, there has been a lot of concern regarding diversity in a coalition opposing the legalization of assisted suicide in that state. One source of concern has been whether or not the Massachusetts Medical Society would maintain its stance in opposing assisted suicide as a legitimate medical practice.
Last week, the Society met and voted – on this as well as other matters. NDY activist John Kelly was turned away, but managed to get a few NDY flyers in the meeting by way of a retired doctor acquaintance he encountered while he was there.
I’m happy to report that the Society strongly reaffirmed its previous opposition to legalization of assisted suicide:
MMS Physicians Reaffirm Opposition to Physician-Assisted Suicide
December 3, 2011Contact: Richard P. Gulla
Phone: (781) 434-7101
Email: rgulla@mms.orgWaltham, Mass. — December 3, 2010 – The Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide association of physicians with more than 23,000 members, today voted to reaffirm its opposition to physician-assisted suicide, with its House of Delegates voting by a wide margin to maintain a policy the Society has had in effect since 1996.
Opposition to physician-assisted suicide was part of a larger policy statement that includes recognition of patient dignity at the end of life and the physician’s role in caring for terminally-ill patients. The policy was approved by more than 75 percent of the Society’s delegates. (Emphasis added.)
Lynda Young, M.D., president of the Society, said that “Physicians of our Society have clearly declared that physician-assisted suicide is inconsistent with the physician’s role as healer and health care provider. At the same time we recognize the importance of patient dignity and the critical role that physicians have in end-of-life care.”
Dr. Young said the policy goes beyond a single statement of opposition to physician-assisted suicide to include “support for patient dignity and the alleviation of pain and suffering at the end of life.” Additionally, it includes the Society’s commitment to “provide physicians treating terminally-ill patients with the ethical, medical, social, and legal education, training, and resources to enable them to contribute to the comfort and dignity of the patient and the patient’s family.”
The policy was one of several reaffirmed and adopted at the Society’s 2011 Interim Meeting, which brings hundreds of physicians from across the state to examine and consider specific resolutions on public health policy, health care delivery, and organizational administration by the Society’s House of Delegates, its policy-making body. Resolutions adopted by the delegates become policies of the organization.
Great news, but the work has hardly begun. We need to see if other stakeholders are going to step up and if everyone can work effectively in a coalition. We’ll keep folks posted here. –Stephen Drake