Legislative Alert!

Please ask State Senator Linda Greenstein (609-395-9911; [email protected]) to vote NO on Senate Bill 382, because of the reasons listed below:

Misrepresentations about Senate Bill 382—the Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill

After a lengthy hearing, on December 15, 2014, the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee reported S382 "without recommendation," which means that the Committee did not endorse S382. At the hearing, two Senators who voted to release the bill indicated that they might vote "no" if the bill was posted in the Senate. A2270, an identical bill, passed in the Assembly on November 13,2014.

The sponsors have introduced A2270/S382 out of compassion for people who are approaching death. But the finest expression of compassion is loving care that reduces or eliminates physical pain, psychological distress, depression, and hopelessness—not prooviding someone with lethal drugs to end their life. Unfortunately, throughout the campaign to bring assisted suicide to New Jersey, the advocates have continually misrepresented the facts.

"Compassion and Choices" has spent enormous amounts of money in a national public relations campaign claiming that most opposition is from religious groups:

Nothing could be further from the truth. Without question, the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey and leaders of other faith-based groups, spurred by their religious belief in the sanctity of human life, have voiced strong objection to S382. But many groups, including those who don't embrace any particular faith's doctrine, have been just as active—or more active—in opposing the unforeseen consequences of assisted suicide. Prominent among the groups that stand in opposition are: Not Dead Yet, a national, secular grassroots group; the Disability Rights Educational Defense Fund; the Patients' Rights Council; the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network; and the Patients' Rights Action Fund.

Pain can be alleviated by palliative and hospice care:

One of the most egregious misrepresentations concerns the issue of ending pain. Advocates ignore or misrepresent the advances in palliative and hospice care—both of which alleviate pain and bring comfort to almost every patient suffering from a terminal illness. Michael Moses, Associate Counsel for USCCB, conducted an excellent review of A2270/S382. In that review, Mr. Moses cites a leading hospice physician who wrote:

...I can state without equivocation that the physical sources of suffering associated with dying all can be controlled. Most often, such symptoms as pain, shortness of breath, and nausea, yield to routine evaluation and straightforward interventions. Even the pain of end-stage cancer commonly can be managed with oral medications. In a small percentage of cases, pain or other bothersome symptoms do require advanced interventions. Rarely, sedation is required to effectively alleviate pain, breathlessness, or terminal agitation.

Symptom management is not always easy. Effective therapy may require the efforts of a physician with special interest in palliative medicine and a team of hospice-trained nurses, consultant pharmacists, and others. Yet I want to state again clearly that in all cases the physical distress of the dying can be controlled.

Most doctors do not support assisted suicide:

The American Medical Association and the Medical Society of New Jersey both oppose physician-assisted suicide.

A six-month prognosis for a terminal illness is not always accurate:

We should oppose S382 because a six-month prognosis for a terminal illness is not always accurate.

Physician-assisted suicide is a direct threat to anyone viewed as a significant cost liability to a healthcare provider:

We should oppose S382 physician-assisted suicide because it is a direct threat to anyone viewed as a significant cost liability to a healthcare provider. In an era of cost control and managed care, patients with lingering illnesses may be branded an economic liability, and decisions to encourage death could be driven by cost. In Oregon, individuals have been denied chemotherapy, but offered medication to end their life.

Suicides increased in Oregoon after their physician-assisted suicide bill became law:

We should oppose S382 because it would send the wrong message to troubled youth and to our military if we passed a law encouraging troubled individuals to take the path of suicide. In 2012, more active-duty military members committed suicide than were killed in combat.

With much success, society works to reduce the incidence of suicide, especially among teens and military personnel. Unfortunately, we often fail to prevent the vulnerable from taking their own life. S382 would encourage the vulnerable to end their life.

Not to be denied is that a decade after Oregon's law allowing physician-assisted suicide took effect, suicide became the leading cause of injury death in that state, and the second leading cause of death among Oregonians under age 34. The suicide rate in Oregon has been rising since 2000, and in 2010 was 41 percent higher than the national average—even though Oregon does not allow physician-assisted suicide to be counted as suicide.

We should eradicate illness not eradicate patients who suffer the illness:

The bottom line is that medical science is called on to eradicate the illnesses from which we suffer—not to eradicate the patients who suffer the illnesses. Our duty is to assist those who are dying—not kill them. Physicians put their knowledge and skills at the service of healing those who are ill. To use their skills to help people kill themselves would violate their sacred oath.