NY, IL Assisted Suicide Laws Face Federal Lawsuits

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , , ,

Disability-rights groups are suing to strike down assisted suicide measures in Illinois and New York.

Currently, more than a dozen states have legalized physician assisted suicide. Last December, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed laws making it possible for patients to request prescriptions for lethal drugs via so-called “Medical Aid in Dying.” But now those laws are facing legal challenges in federal court.

On June 11, the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled filed a lawsuit arguing New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act unlawfully discriminates against disabled people and weakens suicide-prevention protections.

That same day, a coalition of disability-rights groups sued against the Illinois End of Life Options Act, alleging the law discriminates against disabled patients, undermines due process, and weakens longstanding suicide-prevention protections.

Once doctors and policymakers decide some lives are not worth living, it’s practically impossible to choose where to draw the line on assisted suicide.

A physician in Quebec recently made headlines for actually suggesting the Canadian Medical Aid in Dying program be broadened to include babies. Next year, Canada could expand assisted suicide to include people suffering solely from mental health conditions like anxiety or depression.

In the U.S., peer-reviewed research has found people with eating disorders have been wrongly approved for assisted suicide — even in states where assisted suicide is supposed to be limited to patients with terminal illnesses.

Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing, and in some countries, it’s driving palliative care specialists to leave the medical profession. That hurts everyone.

Being pro-life means believing human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life. Pro-lifers must stand strong against them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Poll: Most Americans Say Suicide Is Wrong — But Many Support Physician-Assisted Suicide Anyway

Bioethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , , , ,

A new Gallup poll shows most Americans believe suicide in general is morally wrong, but opinions are split over physician-assisted suicide.

Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey measures Americans’ views on a wide variety of behaviors — like gambling, human cloning, divorce, and so on.

This year’s survey found 70% of Americans say suicide is morally wrong, which is a strong majority.

But here’s the contradiction: views on “doctor-assisted suicide” are nearly evenly split, with a staggering 49% of Americans saying physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable.

It seems like many people may believe that suicide is wrong — except in certain cases or when a doctor assists with the suicide. That should concern every pro-life Arkansan.

Physician-assisted suicide is typically sold to the public as a “compassionate” option for people facing terminal illness. But experience has shown that assisted suicide doesn’t help people who are sick or dying, and it doesn’t remain limited to a few cases.

In Oregon — the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide back in 1997 — a record 637 lethal prescriptions were written last year. Of those patients, only two were referred for psychiatric evaluation before receiving a prescription for suicide. That is a serious failure.

Data shows many of these patients are lonely and feel like they are losing control over their lives. They need counseling and support — not a deadly prescription.

Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing. The Hippocratic Oath promises to “first, do no harm.” Prescribing lethal drugs violates that sacred trust.

The slippery slope is real. In Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands, assisted suicide has expanded far beyond rare, terminal illnesses. Canada is on pace to record its 100,000th assisted suicide death this summer. What starts as a “compassionate choice” eventually becomes routine killing.

In parts of the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have refused to pay for patients’ medical care, but have offered to cover assisted suicide drugs.

Being pro-life means believing innocent human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide violate the sanctity of innocent human life.

That’s why Family Council has strongly opposed assisted suicide legislation in Arkansas. In 2019 and 2021, Arkansas lawmakers wisely rejected very bad end-of-life legislation. Family Council worked closely with our friends in the legislature to stop those proposals.

Gallup’s survey shows Americans understand that suicide is wrong. We should remember that holds true even when activists try to dress it up as “medicine.”

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Ethicists Argue People Who Want to Starve Themselves to Death Should be Eligible for Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , , ,

Last month, three prominent bioethicists published a paper in the journal Bioethics arguing that people who try to commit suicide via self-starvation and dehydration should be eligible for “terminal sedation” — which other experts argue would be nothing more than assisted suicide. The column underscores the “slippery slope” that assisted suicide leads to.

For years, assisted suicide has been promoted as a “compassionate” way to help people with terminal illnesses avoid unnecessary suffering, and several countries as well as some U.S. states have legalized assisted suicide as a result. But experience shows that assisted suicide does not remain rare or limited once it’s legal.

For example, this year, Canada is set to mark its 100,000th assisted suicide death under the country’s “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAiD) program.

A physician in Quebec recently made headlines for actually suggesting the MAiD program be broadened to include babies.

And next year, Canada could expand assisted suicide to include people suffering solely from mental health conditions like anxiety or depression.

In the U.S., peer-reviewed research has found people with eating disorders have been wrongly approved for assisted suicide — even in states where assisted suicide is supposed to be limited to patients with terminal illnesses.

Once doctors and policymakers decide some lives are not worth living, it’s practically impossible to choose where to draw the line on assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing, and in some countries, it’s driving palliative care specialists to leave the medical profession. That hurts everyone.

All of this underscores why Family Council has strongly opposed assisted suicide in Arkansas.

Being pro-life means believing innocent human life is sacred from conception until natural death.

Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide violate the sanctity of innocent human life.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE