Script for plea to NH Reps Vote NO on HB-254 Medical Aid in Dying (suicide)

Sometime next week, March 17-21, HB-254, "Options for End of Life Care", so-called, but really is Medical Aid in Dying (Suicide), will be considered before the NH House of Representatives as an OTP (Ought To Pass) motion. 

Below is an excellent scripted plea position against this evil bill, written by KofC 1820 Chancellor Mark Roberts, for you to be informed, and use it to send or craft your own message to your local NH House Representatives.

The link to find your representatives and their phone or email address is: https://gc.nh.gov/house/members/

Please participate in having your voice heard against this wrong--headed bill.

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Dear Representative [Last Name] or The Honorable [Full Name]

I strongly oppose HB 254-FN, The "New Hampshire End of Life Freedom Act” for the following reasons:

A physician’s role is to care, not to cause death. Regardless of how it is phrased: physician-assisted suicide (PAS), death with dignity, doctor-prescribed death, right to die, and physician-assisted death, or aid in dying (AID), legalizing physician-assisted death for end-of-life terminal illness raises serious ethical concerns. It can and does lead to a slippery slope, where society normalizes death as a solution rather than a last resort.

As early as the 1970’s, Sociologist David Phillips first described suicide contagion. He showed that after high profile suicides, society would witness a broad spike in suicides. This was particularly true for individuals whose demographic profiles were similar to those of the person who died by suicide. Although Phillips’s work did not focus on AID, it was corroborated by the spike in youth suicidality following the airing of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why through a 2019 analysis. In addition, the highly publicized and publicly-available data from Oregon revealed that in the months surrounding Brittany Maynard’s high-profile death in November 2014, the number of similarly situated individuals in Oregon who ended their lives by lethal ingestion more than doubled. Furthermore, research shows from 1998 (when Oregon started recording data) to 2013, the number of lethal prescriptions written each year increased at an average of 12.1%. During 2014 and 2015, however, this increase doubled, suggesting that high-profile AID leads to more AID. A further concern raised in Oregon is the possibility that, contrary to the Oregon law, patients with depression are receiving prescriptions for lethal medication. Other states and countries have fallen prey to this.

The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg laws all permit euthanasia or PAS for somatic (physical) or non-somatic (non-physical—for example, psychiatric, mental, or emotional) suffering that is unbearable, lasting, and with no other reasonable solution. Amongst other conditions, “Unbearable” suffering is to be determined from the patient’s perspective.

Under the Netherlands law, so long as parents or guardians have been involved in the decision process, minors between 16 and 18 years of age can direct assisted death.

Simply put, making things more available and more attractive, naturally leads to greater accessibility and use.

Once we accept the idea that doctors can end lives, it becomes easier to expand eligibility criteria. Who decides who is "worthy" of assisted death? What about those with disabilities or chronic illnesses? We risk creating a society that values productivity and "quality of life" above all else.

Compassion must not involve the targeting for death of the most vulnerable in our society; those facing terminal illness, LGBTQ+, the elderly and young coping with psychiatric illness, lacking social connectivity with family, friends, and community, physical illness and/or functional capacity, or military service members dealing with PTSD issues.

Compassion means providing the best possible care, including pain management and our excellent state of palliative care and hospice services.

We have the legitimate and moral means to alleviate suffering, and we shouldn't give up on those. Legalizing physician-assisted death could also undermine the trust between patients and doctors. If doctors are seen as having the power to end lives, patients might fear that their doctors will simply "give up" on them, seeing death as an easier solution.

It is imperative that our society maintains the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. I am Christian believer and a practicing Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. The church teaches that life should not be prematurely terminated since it is a gift from God and survival is the design of Creation! To be true to their Hippocratic Oath to "first do no harm", Physicians should not be permitted a pass to enable or assist in suicide.

I ask that you prayerfully consider this matter and choose to support life. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this vital issue.

Sincerely,

(Your Name(s) and Address here)

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WALTER A. STAPLETON, Financial Secty, Pro-Life Chair
Knights of Columbus, Claremont NH
Fr. Cote Council 1820
90 Veterans Park Road, Claremont NH 03743

Cell: 603-995-1034.  Home: 603-542-8656
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