How Does Normalizing Suicide Make Sense In A State Dedicated To Suicide Prevention?
Proponents of HB 1283, “End of Life Options”, say that choosing to end your life when you have been given a medical diagnosis that predicts you have 6 months or less to live “is not suicide.” Of course it is suicide – it’s a decision to end your life. That is suicide, whether a physician helps you do it or not.
In the Granite State, suicide is a serious problem – it is the 8th leading cause of death among all Granite Staters. Furthermore, NH ranks 12th in the country for suicide deaths.
It is such a serious problem that NH established the NH Suicide Prevention Council, a group that is dedicated to promoting awareness that suicide is a preventable public health problem. This group has done great work, launching the “Strong As Granite” website, putting on educational conferences and working to publicize the expanded use of 988 for those in mental health crisis.
In fact, since 2020, the State of NH has allocated $450,000 annually to support suicide prevention programs.
In 2019, the Governor himself signed SB 282, relative to suicide prevention education in schools, along with lawmakers, advocates and parents. “Suicide is preventable … and it starts with us,” he said.
Why, then, would NH ever entertain the notion of passing a bill that legalizes suicide? That sends the message, “suicide is OK is some situations”? Do we want to send this dangerous mixed message to those vulnerable to suicide in this state?
Oregon is the U.S. state that has had physician-assisted suicide in place the longest. We should learn from that state because across demographics, Oregon’s suicide rate has been on the rise since 2000 and is more than 30% above the national average.
Let’s stop HB1283 in its tracks before it undoes all the progress we have made on suicide prevention in NH.