[Editor’s Note: Disability rights advocates in the District of Columbia are part of a diverse coalition of people from disability, minority, medical provider and faith communities working to oppose the assisted suicide bill currently before the D.C. Council and scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, November 1st. Below is an announcement that came from the D.C. coalition over the weekend, including ways you can help, especially by mobilizing your friends and colleagues in D.C.]
At 11 AM on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, the D.C. City Council will hold its initial vote on B21-38, the so-called “Death with Dignity 2015” bill. This bill would legalize assisted suicide in the District of Columbia.
This bill discriminates against racial minorities, the poor, the sick, the elderly and individuals with disabilities. It limits both choice and autonomy for patients, and pressures them to make decisions they otherwise should never have to make. It drives wedges between doctors and their patients, caregivers and family members. It places government bureaucrats and insurance companies as potentially key decision makers on whether a person will receive the medical treatment their life may well depend on or whether those patients will simply be offered suicide drugs.
Over the past three weeks our coalition has grown in size and volume as grassroots organizations across the District, church organizations, as well as representatives from the Hispanic community, have joined in demanding that their elected officials reject this fatally flawed legislation. Our voice is being heard on B21-38.
Over the next few days, our coalition has several opportunities to show the DC Council where their constituents stand on this issue:
- On Sunday, October 30 at 3 pm, DC area churches will hold an inter-faith prayer service on the steps of the Wilson Building: 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Please consider joining us for an hour of prayer and unity against assisted suicide.
- On Monday, October 31, DC Council offices will be open and accepting phone calls to hear where DC residents stand on this issue. In meetings with councilmembers, they and their staff have indicated they want to hear from DC residents, particularly those in Wards 5, 7 and 8. If you have friends in those wards willing to make calls, please share the below contact information, and please keep those calls going into the offices. (Click here to find talking points.)
- On Tuesday, November 1, we will be gathering at the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.) as visible show of support for those councilmembers who have stood against this legislation and to help confirm in the minds of those councilmembers still considering their positions that B21-38 is a fatally flawed bill that is #wrong4DC. Please join us outside of Room 500 as early as you can.
If you cannot join us for these events, you can still play a role. You can:
- Send a letter to your council member through our website
- Tweet at @councilofdc using the #wrong4DC
- Call your council member using the information found here
- Call Mayor Muriel Bowser at (202) 727-2643 and ask her to be prepared to veto the bill
Thank you for all you’ve done and all that we will do together over the next two weeks to defeat B21-38.