Doctor-Prescribed Death on the Move

Bubbling beneath the radar is a well-financed, highly-motivated effort to legalize doctor-prescribed death (also known as assisted suicide) in new areas of the country. Buoyed by victories in Oregon and Washington, the pro-euthanasia forces have their sites on expanding in the northwest and establishing a beachhead in the New England States.

The key states to watch in 2011 are Vermont, Montana and Hawaii. Wisconsin Right to Life has provided key assistance to these states as they prepare for gigantic battles.

As positive as election results were in Congress, Wisconsin and other states, the opposite occurred in Vermont. Governor-Elect Peter Shumlin ran on a platform of legalizing doctor-prescribed death and has lots of company in newly-elected state legislators.

Shumlin has made it clear in numerous public statements that he would actively promote and sign into law a measure to legalize doctor-prescribed death. According to Shumlin, this measure is not about people who are in pain, but about those who are no longer “productive.”

The Oregon-based Death With Dignity National Center (DWD) has pledged financial support of $100,000, a large sum of money in a small state like Vermont. “Passing a new law in 2011 [in Vermont] will establish a foothold in New England and set the stage for a successful 2012 ballot initiative campaign [in other New England states],” says DWD.

In late 2009, the Montana State Supreme Court issued a ruling which leaves significant doubt about whether doctor-prescribed death is legal in that state, leaving it up to the legislature to decide. Bills to both legalize and prohibit doctor-prescribed death are expected to be introduced in early 2011. Election results in Montana could bode well for the right-to-life side.

Bills have been introduced numerous times in Hawaii to legalize doctor-prescribed death and our Hawaiian colleagues are expecting a renewed effort in 2011.

Barbara Lyons