EDITORIAL

Kill Assisted Suicide in Massachusetts, vote NO on Question 2

Posted

Once again the proponents of assisted suicide are attempting to bring their so-called “death with dignity” campaign into New England.

In nearby Massachusetts a ballot question (Question 2) set for the November election would legalize physician-assisted suicide under state law. The proposed law would allow doctors upon request to prescribe a lethal dose of a drug that would cause death to any patient who has been told by two doctors they have less than six months to live.

Using the dubious “right to die” argument, the backers of this assisted suicide ballot measure proclaim that the terminally ill are entitled by right to end their lives. They conveniently ignore the American Medical Association’s statement that “physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physicians’ role as healer.” In the Bay State it is not only the Catholic Church but also healthcare professionals, including the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) and others from the healthcare sector who also oppose the legalization of this ghoulish form of medicine. The five past presidents of the MMS publicly stated their opposition to Question 2 stating: “Under this proposed law, patients with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live can request a prescription to commit suicide. If this law is passed, the doctor /patient relationship will suffer and the way doctors deliver health care will be gravely changed.”

In their crusade to bring assisted suicide to New England the advocates of the ghastly practice overlook other important factors such as the marginalization of the terminally ill. Assisted Suicide laws not only demean the lives of vulnerable patients but also directly expose them to exploitation by those who consider them a burden emotionally and economically. The poor, the frail, elderly, racial minorities, and those who lack adequate healthcare insurance are most likely to bear the pressure to end their lives. “Better off dead” would quickly become the rallying cry of a healthcare industry racked with financial constraints and burdened with costly patients.

Alternatives to assisted suicide do exist and should be supported rather than legally establishing the macabre experiment of assisted suicide in Massachusetts. Palliative care, the controlling of patients’ pain with medication, not killing them, is the way of true mercy and compassion. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has said: “Physician assisted suicide is an assault on human dignity. It must never be seen as a viable alternative to hospice and palliative care that address not only people's pain but also their fears and frustration.” We hope that all the citizens of Massachusetts will rise up to ensure that this assault on human dignity is rejected and the sacredness of all human life upheld. Let the Commonwealth of Massachusetts kill Question 2 in November so her citizens will never be put to death by assisted suicide.