Some good news from New Hampshire:
A bill to legalize assisted suicide in New Hampshire lost key backing yesterday from a legislative committee when both supporters and opponents joined forces to reject it.The House Judiciary Committee voted 14-3 against the bill that would let terminally ill patients over age 18 obtain lethal prescriptions, with safeguards to prevent abuses.Supporters of assisted suicide said the bill was flawed and teamed up with opponents to vote against recommending the measure to the full House. The committee has been working on the bill since September.The House votes on the recommendation in January. If the chamber accepts the committee recommendation, legislative rules make it nearly impossible for the issue to be brought up again next year.
Good news, but there is reason to remain vigilant. Allies in the state tell us that it’s highly unusual for the full legislature to approve a measure defeated in committee, but it is possible. Assisted Suicide activists could make a push for a full vote – or they might decide this could be a year in which most legislatures have enough on their plates without pushing the envelope on the “right to be killed.”
Our local NDY organizers Tom Cagle and Bunny McLeod will continue to make sure that the disability rights perspective opposing legalized assisted suicide continues to be heard. –Stephen Drake