October 31, 2013 Response to Question 1: I have a serious, progressive neuromuscular disability. For most of my life, doctors thought I had spinal muscular atrophy, but now there’s a DNA test for that and last year we learned that I don’t have the SMA gene. So now I have a generic neuromuscular disability labeled congenital myopathy. I have friends with similar conditions, as well as friends with post-polio syndrome, many of whom use BiPAP machin…
…tates (HI, WA, VT) also introduced bills to amend their waiting periods. In 2021, California enacted that change. Prospective assisted suicide states also introduced bills with shorter or waivable waiting periods. In 2021, New Mexico enacted that change. 40 Assisted Suicide Expansion in the U.S. Many states have been considering bills to expand the types of clinicians qualified under the law. Who can provide assisted suicide – advance practice reg…
…iminate patient protections in their website FAQs, as recently as April 12, 2021. The notation states, “Death with dignity statutes contain a number of safeguards, protecting patients from abuse and coercion … the patient must make two oral requests, at least 15 days apart.” (Source: https://www.deathwithdignity.org/faqs/). But in this new bill, proponents want to eliminate this very “safeguard” they once held up. This rush to erode the safeguards…
…percent of individuals outlived their 6-month prognosis[5] in 2020, 3.8% in 2021[6] and 5.8% in 2022.[7] This does not take into account the individuals who took the drugs quickly but may have survived if they had waited longer. There is no requirement that the doctor consider the likely impact of medical treatment in terms of survival. Oregon reports [show] that non-cancer conditions found eligible for assisted suicide have grown over the years….
…ple Against Cuts and Not Dead Yet Rally Against Assisted Dying (morningstaronline.com, 04/29/24) New York considers Medical Aid in Dying Act for ninth consecutive year (WAMC, 04/27/24) Advocates push back after Cardinal O’Malley denounces bill to permit physician-assisted suicide (Boston Globe, 04/16/24) Assisted suicide in Minnesota? Critics point to Canada as cautionary tale (Star Tribune, o4/12/24) Think again: the humanist case against assiste…
