…imbest222@aol.com Testimony Against HB 150 Statement to the House Health & Human Development Committee Re: House Bill 150 – An Act Relating to Death With Dignity Wednesday, June 3, 2015 OPPOSE My name is Daniese McMullin-Powell, I am testifying on behalf of Not Dead Yet, the national disability rights group that has long opposed euthanasia and assisted suicide. Our opposition is based in universal principles of social justice that apply to eve…
…capable victims, or as inspirational over-achievers, but never as ordinary human beings. Nor do the filmmakers focus on their struggles against the external barriers and discrimination that limit their life options, focusing instead on the physical changes that are natural to the human experience. The message is clear; the lives of those of us with disabilities are not worth living. We are better off dead, and the sooner the better. These attitude…
…s most well-known for his campaign to start a new “ethic” toward death and human experimentation. He began his campaign in the 1950s, urging legislation that would allow death row prisoners to elect to be put to death through general anesthesia. There was a catch, though. They would also have to agree to be kept alive for hours or days while surgical experiments were performed on them. (I’m assuming Susan Sarandon didn’t know about this part of hi…
…rker groups, including AARP, ADAPT, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, SEIU and many more. “We need to tell Congress that Medicaid matters!” said Not Dead Yet Board member Mary Lopez, executive director of Independence Empowerment Center in Manassas, VA, who will be speaking on behalf of NDY at the rally. “Certain legislators have proposed block grants which create a lack of accountability for how states spend Medicaid dollars. O…
…I am the only paid staffer for a disability rights group that was formed in 1996. In 1997, over 500 disability activists gathered in front of the Supreme Court to voice opposition to legalization of assisted suicide while the Court considered two cases claiming a constitutional right to assisted suicide. NDY also organized a rally and protest against the appointment of bioethicist Peter Singer at Princeton University, involving about 200 disabilit…
