…led that Haleigh Poutre should “pass away with dignity.” The day after the ruling the news was released that Poutre had clearly recovered some level of consciousness and she was transferred to rehabilitation. Jesse Ramirez was brain injured in a 2007 car accident in Arizona which occurred during argument between Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez was in coma and doctors could not say if he would wake up. Nine days after the accident, Mrs. Ramirez w…

…stee of his estate several months earlier, and had deeded his home to the trust. Middleton had instructed that the home be rented until the real estate market improved. Instead, Sawyer listed the property for sale two days after Middleton’s death. When the home sold, the proceeds were deposited into the accounts of Sawyer’s businesses. In Oregon, there is no investigation of assisted-suicide deaths, even with suspicious circumstances such as those…

…distorted and abused. Meaningful self-determination gets bypassed and obstructed in favor of a rush to judgment that cuts short the lives of newly disabled people based on ignorant and outmoded judgments about quality of life. We urge NCD to come up to speed on health care decisions laws because national guidance is needed to help reshape these laws to prevent discrimination in these life and death judgments. My written comments include action st…