Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Washington State's Annual Report: No Information About Consent

By Margaret Dore


Washington assisted suicide act is similar to the proposed assisted suicide initiative in Massachusetts.[1]  


Washington's act was enacted via a ballot initiative in 2008 and went into effect in 2009.[2]  During the election, proponents claimed that its passage would ensure individuals control over their deaths.  A glossy brochure declared, "Only the patient — and no one else — may administer the [lethal dose]."[3]  The Act, however, does not say this anywhere.


Today, the Washington State Department of Health issued its annual report about Washington's act.[4]  That report, similarly, does not demonstrate that individuals are in control. The report provides no information as to whether the people who died under the act consented and/or acted voluntarily at the time of death.  The report instead talks about "ingestion" of the lethal dose.  A drug can be "ingested" while a person is asleep, sedated and/or not aware of his or her surroundings.


For more information about Washington's act, See Margaret Dore, "'Death with Dignity': What Do We Advise Our Clients?," Bar Bulletin, May 2009.[5]  


* * *
[1]  See RCW 70.245.010 et seq.
[2]  Washington's act was passed by in November 2008 as Initiative 1000 and was now been codified as RCW chapter 70.245.
[3]   I-1000 color pamphlet, "Paid for by Yes! on 1000."
[4]  See News Release here and report here.
[5]  Further information can be viewed here.

Meeting Against Assisted Suicide, Sat, May 19th!




Second Thoughts is a disability rights group opposed to the assisted suicide initiative.  Second Thoughts will be holding an educational and organizational meeting on Saturday, May 19, 2 PM-4:30 PM, at the Cambridge Senior Center In Central Sq., Cambridge. 

The meeting will be in the  first floor "ballroom," no elevator necessary.  For more information: info@second-thoughts.org 

Cambridge Citywide Senior Center
806 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

(617) 349-6060 for directions only

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Not Dead Yet: A Deeper Look at Elderly Homicide-Suicides


From Not Dead Yet:  "society cannot lose sight of the fact that a person's life was taken, often without their consent." 

May 1, 2012

Last September, this blog discussed an article from a Pennsylvania newspaper that took a thoughtful, in-depth look at the tragically growing trend of elderly homicide/suicides.  When that story was written, there had been three such cases in the state since June of that year.

The number is now up to at least 6 in the last year.  Terrie Morgan-Besecker takes another in-depth look at elderly homicide/suicides and interviews a number of people about the larger picture (including me) to get beyond the 'mercy killing' theme that dominates the coverage of these tragedies.

An excerpt that includes a bit from my interview is below.  From TheAbington Journal, here is a sample of 'Loved to Death': 

But researchers who have studied murder-suicides among the elderly say they're troubled by society's tendency to view such deaths as mercy killings.

"One of the concerns is you don't want to make it sound like it's a viable thing to do," said Sonia Salari, a professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah."  If we romanticize it, it makes it sound like it's OK."

Statistics regarding the number of elderly murder-suicides committed each year are difficult to come by, as no agency specifically tracks that category of deaths, Salari said.

In a 2005 study, Salari analyzed 225 intimate partner murder-suicides involving couples where either the victim or perpetrator was at least age 60. She gathered the data from news reports, police reports and obituaries published from 1999 to 2005.

The research showed that in 55 percent of the cases, health issues   involving either the victim or perpetrator were cited as a contributing factor. Approximately 7.5 percent of the victims had some sort of dementia.

Compassion or murder?

Salari said that, while she sympathizes with survivors who view the deaths as an act of compassion, society cannot lose sight of the fact that a person's life was taken, often without their consent.

"Some people don't consider it domestic violence, but we need to see it as that," she said. "You have two deaths. Most of the time the victim is not in on the plan."

Stephen Drake, a spokesman for Not Dead Yet, a nonprofit group that opposes assisted suicide laws, also expressed concern over how murder-suicides among the elderly are viewed.

"These are acts usually of desperation, not compassion," he said. "These are people who are feeling depressed or overwhelmed. It's often a consequence of an emotional crisis."
Please read the rest of the article here.  --Stephen Drake 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Bob Joyce: "Details of Mass. assisted-suicide bill raise concerns"

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-20/letters/31366522_1_assisted-suicide-bill-ballot-question-life-ending-drugs

THIS STORY APPEARED IN the Boston Globe, April 20, 2012

I was glad to see that lawmakers in Vermont defeated an assisted suicide bill similar to the pending ballot question initiative here in Massachusetts. The article bringing the good news, however, risks conveying an inaccurate impression about how the Massachusetts proposal would work (“Mass. group hails defeat of Vermont suicide bill,” Boston.com, April 14).

The article suggests that the proposed ballot question would allow patients to “self-administer” life-ending drugs. The use of this term could lead the casual reader to think that self-administration is required. It is not. I am a lawyer who has read the proposal. It merely states that a patient “may” self-administer the lethal dose. There is no requirement that administration must be by self-administration.
Also of concern is the fact that the proposal does not require that administration be by disinterested people. Disinterested witnesses are also not required. These factors increase the risk of elder abuse by heirs and other people who stand to benefit from the death.

As a lawyer who has seen my older clients abused, I am hopeful that this Massachusetts proposal will follow the Vermont proposal to the grave.

Robert W. Joyce

Newton