Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee of the New Hampshire legislature held a hearing on a bill that would legalize assisted suicide in that state.
Diane Coleman, founder and President of Not Dead Yet, wrote about it on the Center for Disability Rights blog yesterday:
Many people know that CDR is active in advocacy on the national level, and provides support and technical assistance in other states. That is also true of Not Dead Yet, which now has its national headquarters in CDR’s Rochester offices. Today, February 19, 2009, the House Judiciary Committee in New Hampshire held a hearing on HB 304 (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/HB0304.html), which is titled “AN ACT relative to death with dignity for certain persons suffering from a terminal condition.” In case the wording leaves you in doubt, this is a bill to legalize assisted suicide.
This particular bill is broader in terms of who would be eligible for assisted suicide than any similar bill introduced in the U.S. so far. Other bills limit “eligibility” to people diagnosed to have less than 6 months to live, but the NH bill actually expands the definition of “terminal” in a way that makes virtually anyone with a significant disability or chronic condition “eligible” for legal help in killing themselves. You can find an analysis of this element of the bill at the Not Dead Yet blog at http://notdeadyetnewscommentary.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-hampshire-poised-to-redefine.html.
If pro-assisted suicide advocates were hoping to dominate the testimony today, they are in for disappointment. New Hampshire activists Bunny McLeod and Tom Cagle offered personal testimony. The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) submitted written testimony by Marilyn Golden. Dr. Ira Byock, Director of Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center submitted written testimony in opposition to the bill based on his extensive experience as a palliative care physician. I prepared testimony submitted on behalf of Not Dead Yet (NDY).
Read the rest of the entry, including links to the complete text of the testimony listed above.