Posted on 07/28/2012 1:24:12 PM PDT by wagglebee
Massachusetts is the latest battleground over euthanasia with an initiative on the ballot in November to adopt a statute similar to those in Oregon and Washington, which allow physicians to prescribe suicide for their patients.
As in Oregon and Washington, the Massachusetts proposal states assisted suicide would be legal for residents of the state in cases where a doctor has determined the patient has less than six months to live. However, the examples of the two Western states have shown that those safeguards do not work.
Robin Loughman, R.N., Chairwoman of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Doctor-Prescribed Suicide (MAADPS), said in a press release, “a prognosis of six months to live is inexact at best. This question gives people the means to commit suicide. The doctor has no obligation to be sure the person is competent, not depressed, or not under pressure. The doctor is required to falsify the death certificate by stating the cause of death to be the “underlying condition” rather than the suicide that occurred.”
“We’re confident … that we’ll be successful in November,” said Stephen Crawford, communications director of the pro-assisted suicide “Dignity 2012” campaign. Media coverage of the debate has been decidedly in favor of the proposal. According to Loughman, the press has used the word “medication,” which should cure, instead of the descriptive, “lethal dose.”
In June, a poll by the Western New England University Polling Institute found sixty percent of Bay State voters in favor of the ballot measure. However, polling on ballot questions are not as straightforward as polling on candidates running for office, a point also made by the director of the Polling Institute at Western New England University.
“Polling on ballot questions is tricky because responses can be highly sensitive to question wording,” said Tim Vercellotti, associate professor of political science and director of the Polling Institute at Western New England University. “The actual questions that the voters see on the ballot tend to be longer and more complicated. Our questions attempt to get to the essence of each issue.”
The survey asked voters whether they supported or opposed “allowing people who are dying to legally obtain medication that they could use to end their lives,” according to Vercellotti.
If presented with the reality of legalized assisted suicide, it remains to be seen whether voters would go along with the proposal. According to the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics at the National Right to Life Committee, the so-called safeguards do not work. In addition, the legalization of assisted suicide brings grave implications for the medical field by transforming doctors from healers into killers.
Following legalization in Oregon, a woman was told that her health plan would not cover the cancer treatment she needed but rather would cover the cost of her suicide. And the case was not an isolated incident. Assisted suicide legalization in Oregon has put patients at risk by putting financial pressure on physicians to prescribe suicide. “It’s chilling when you think about it,” said Dr. William Toffler, a professor of family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. “It absolutely conveys to the patient that continued living isn’t worthwhile.”
Welcome to the world of Romney-Obamacare.
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Deniers of our glorious quantum universe.
Let those who want to kill themselves by those who are too willing to kill - have fun. Romney brought evil into MA so it now has an open door and now the cult leader wants to bring it/destruction to all of America.
John 10:10 The thief (satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
typical liberal b.s. they don’t believe in the death penalty and will spend over $50,000 dollars a year for their incarceration, yet the will advocate the killing of someone who made the mistake of living too long.
just like hitler’s view: useless eaters.
rats are fascists, not marxists. not so much difference between the two.
Blessings, Bobo
Then their solutions for societies ills are straight totalitarian.
“Assisted Suicide Backers Confident They’ll Win in Massachusetts”
OK. But... each one of the backers must commit suicide.
One must show faith in the cause, else one does not deserve support.
Now it is time (if it passes) for the Boston Mayor to lead from the front.
I’m getting bleary eyed for some reason. I thought it said suicide bombers!
They might, but probably will take their sweet time about it.
Surely he must think Massachusetts is such a depressing place (anywhere they don’t want Chick-Fil-A has to be depressing) that it merits such a response?
Massashootthemselvesinthefoot
Democrats think that our planet can only support 30million people, so a lot of us have to die to quell their irrational fears.
Free people don’t really care. No “assistance” would be necessary.
For Republicans living in MA, suicide is probably redundant.
The arrogance of liberals is amazing.
It’s amazing to me how seemingly easy it was to get this on the ballot, while we tried for YEARS to get One Man-One Woman Marriage on the ballot, but the legislature couldn’t manage to pass it though so we could vote on it.
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