…d a groundbreaking report condemning third party decisions to withhold medical treatment including hydration and nutrition from individuals with disabilities without a terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness as a denial of the basic constitutional and civil rights of individuals with disabilities. NDRN is the national association of the federally funded disability protection and advocacy agencies in all 50 states, charged to protect the ci…

…Drawing on those same principles, we supported the ballot question for medical marijuana. We chose our name Second Thoughts because we find that many people, once they delve below the surface appeal of assisted suicide, have “second thoughts” and oppose it. In Massachusetts a month before the election, 68% of Massachusetts voters supported the ballot question. But upon closer look at the real-world threats the legislation posed, voters had serious…

…ide proponents refashioned Medicare’s six-month hospice benefit into a medical diagnosis/prognosis on which to base life-and-death decision making. For the purposes of legalization initiatives, proponents decided that “terminal illness” would mean one probably has less than six months to live, based on the guesses of doctors. But just as 1/6 of people in hospice outlive their six-month hospice benefit period, so too, many people who receive a so-c…

…as progressive disability rights advocates came together with the Mass Medical Society, the Massachusetts Hospice & Palliative Care Federation, and health policy advocates. Second Thoughts expanded to include the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and MPOWER, along with independent living centers and the Disability Policy Consortium. Last year, lead proponent Doctor Marcia Angell told WBUR that Question 2 was all about allowing terminally ill people,…