Monday, October 26, 2015

Dore Letter to Joint Committee on Public Health

I am a lawyer in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.  I am also president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. 

H.1991 is a promoted as assuring patient control, which it doesn't do.  Key problems include the following:

  • Someone else is allowed to speak for the patient during the lethal dose request process. 
  • The term, "self-administer," allows someone else to administer the lethal dose to the patient 
  • There is no oversight at the death: Even if the patient struggled against administration, who would know?
  • The death certificate is required to be falsified to reflect a natural death, which prevents perpetrators from being prosecuted even in a straight up murder for the money.
In short, the bill allows the perfect crime.

Here is a link to my memo explaining the bill's problems in more detail.  Even if you are for the concept of assisted suicide, H.1991 is the wrong bill.  http://www.massagainstassistedsuicide.org/2015/10/dore-memo-opposing-h1991.html 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, P.S.
Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation
www.margaretdore.com
www.choiceillusion.org
1001 4th Avenue, Suite 4400
Seattle WA  98154

Dore Memo Opposing H.1991

H.1991 is similar to Ballot Question 2, which was defeated by a vote of the people in 2012.  This memo and its attachments discusses why H.1991 is a recipe for elder abuse.  Passage will also cause family trauma, and encourage people with years to live to throw away their lives.  There are other problems.  Even if you are for the concept of assisted suicide, H.1991 is the wrong bill.

Margaret Dore

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Young Man Actively Suicidal After Watching Brittany Maynard Video

Dear Legislators:


I am a doctor whose young adult patient became actively suicidal after watching a  Brittany Maynard video.

I urge you to vote against legalizing assisted suicide so as to not encourage other young adults to seek this path.  

In the first week of December 2014, a mother brought in her twenty year old son for an emergency appointment.  She had told me that he had been acting oddly and talking about death.

During the appointment, I asked the young man if he had a plan.  He said “yes” that he had watched Ms. Maynard’s video, that he was very impressed and identified with her and that he thought it was a good idea for him to die like her.  He also told me that after watching the video he had been surfing the internet looking for ways to obtain suicide drugs.

He was actively suicidal and agreed to go to the hospital, where he stayed for five weeks until it was determined that he was sufficiently safe from self-harm to go home.

Legal assisted suicide sends the wrong message to young people.  I urge you to vote "no" on H.1991.

Thank you.

Will Johnston MD

Gisele M. Comeau, M.D
Williard P. Johnston, M.D.
Family Physicians
Vancouver, BC Canada