Posted on 06/06/2023 12:07:31 PM PDT by Morgana
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill to legalize assisted suicide Monday, saying there are better options for suffering patients than killing them.
The anti-life legislation, state Senate Bill 239, would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients diagnosed with a terminal condition to commit suicide.
The bill passed the state Senate by one vote in April and the Assembly by four votes in May. It appears unlikely that the Democrat-controlled legislature has enough votes to override the governor’s veto.
In his veto message, Lombardo said he did not feel comfortable signing a bill to legalize the killing practice.
“End of life decisions are never easy,” the Republican governor said. “Individuals and family members must often come together to face many challenges — including deciding what is the best course of treatment for a loved one.
“Fortunately, expansions in palliative care services and continued improvements in advanced pain management make the end-of-life provisions in SB 239 unnecessary,” he continued.
Melissa Clement, director of Nevada Right to Life, thanked voters for speaking up against the bill and lawmakers for listening to their concerns.
“Your calls, your emails, your texts were a big part of tonight’s victory. Compassion & Choices, formerly known as The Hemlock Society, had a number of paid lobbyists, but at the end of the day, your compassion for the elderly, the medically marginalized, the vulnerable, and the disabled prevailed,” Clement said. “… Legislators know that phone calls, emails, and personal testimony will show up when needed. Elections have consequences. Thank you, Governor Joe Lombardo for standing up for life.”
8 News Now reports the pro-assisted suicide lobbying group Compassion & Choices claimed the bill has strong public support, but the state legislature received more than twice as many public comments against the bill as those in favor.
If it had passed, the legislation would have allowed adults diagnosed with a terminal condition to request drugs from a doctor to kill themselves. The bill also would have created misleading death certificates by requiring doctors to list the person’s terminal condition as their cause of death instead of the true cause: assisted suicide by lethal drugs. It would not have required the coroner to certify the cause of death either.
Additionally, the bill would have forced health insurance companies to cover patients who want to die by assisted suicide.
Responding to the governor’s veto, lawyer and bioethicist Wesley Smith said assisted suicide is a “profoundly dangerous” practice. He pointed to Canada and Germany where legalized killing has been expanding, and there is talk of allowing euthanasia of children and homeless people.
“… assisted suicide isn’t only unnecessary, it is profoundly dangerous,” Smith wrote at National Review. “Once we decide to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer, we open a Pandora’s box of continual killing expansion — as in Canada — to death on demand — as in Germany.”
In the United States, 10 states and Washington, D.C. allow doctor assisted suicide. Hundreds of people die by assisted suicide every year in Oregon, Washington, California, Vermont and other states where the killing practice is allowed.
Meanwhile, pro-life leaders and disability rights organizations are working hard to defend life. In April, four disability advocacy groups sued California, arguing its assisted suicide law discriminates against people who struggle with life-long ailments by treating their lives as less worthy of protection.
Action: Contact Nevada state lawmakers.
How about fixing the voter rolls in your state?
Good for him.
Animal shelters. Most of the volunteers are women. They’re the caretakers who’d hate to see a dog euthanized. They’ll put up with a male taking their athletic scholarship because it’s ok to terminate a pregnancy in the 3rd trimester.
If life is so precious why can’t they volunteer in nursing homes? Dogs are positive and upbeat mostly. Boyfriends are disappointing. Our priorities are screwed up.
—he tried, but we have this thing called the “state legislature—
If you want to go......
The legislature won’t listen. And they’re a out to wrap it up for this session.
If it saves just one child...
I’ve never heard of him trying to do anything with elections.
I’ve never heard of him trying to do anything with elections.
—he proposed a comprehensive voting reform bill—
Interesting...the Vegas bookies got the Florida Panthers to commit suicide on the ice. They don’t need to worry about old people!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.