Updates from the NH Coalition For Suicide Prevention
Assisted Suicide Legislation Impacts The Vulnerable Around The World
Wall Street Journal reporter Nicholas Tomaino has written a series of articles on the dangerous side of assisted suicide, exposing the impact on people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
In “The Woman Trying To Talk the U.K. Off The Ledge” (WSJ 11/22/24), actress Liz Carr warns that “no society can permit assisted suicide without endangering the disabled.” She worries about a slippery slope— that once you allow it for some people, others will want it, and more yet will fall prey to it. As one British politician recently put it, a right to die can very quickly become a “duty to die”. That’s particularly acute in countries with socialized medicine, where the decision not to die, to continue medical or hospice care, is shouldered by the state.
A Sept. 2, 2024 piece by Tomaino looks at the frightening impacts of MAiD (Medical Aid In Dying) legislation in Canada (read WSJ article, “Welcome to Canada, the Doctor Will Kill You Now; Assisted suicide was sold as compassionate. In practice, it has turned out to be monstrous”,
MAiD is responsible for 44,958 people put to death between the years of 2016 and 2022. “In 2022, more than 81% of petitions resulted in death, including for conditions like “vision/hearing loss” and “diabetes”.
When MAiD first became legal in 2015, lawmakers intended to “impose limits” and stated that they “do not wish to promote premature death as a solution to medical suffering.” Fast forward to 2021, when an expansion of the law was proposed that would include mental illness as an acceptable condition for consideration of MAiD (at this time, the expansion has been delayed until 2027).
In the 10/4/23 issue of The Local (news@thelocal.dk), Denmark’s Ethics Council advises against legalizing euthanasia: “Fully sixteen out seventeen members of the committee concluded in a report that it was "in principle, impossible to establish proper regulation of euthanasia", and as a result recommended that the law in Denmark should not be changed to allow people suffering mental or physical distress to receive help to end their own lives.
"The very existence of an offer of euthanasia will decisively change our ideas about old age, the coming of death, quality of life and what it means to take others into account," they wrote. “If euthanasia becomes an option, there is too great a risk that it will become an expectation aimed at special groups in society."
As New Hampshire prepares for another round of proposed assisted suicide legislation, it would be wise to study what is happening around the globe, and here in the United States, before opening a door that could have devastating impacts on those most vulnerable to suicide.
Steven Wade, Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association, views this year’s bill as a potential risk for abuse within the disability community, warning that it sends a dangerous message that suicide is an acceptable solution.
“Having a difficult life and being in pain, those are things that people with brain injury and people with disabilities live with every day,” said Wade. “It’s devaluing the lived experience of people living with severe disability in the community and it’s also putting folks like that at risk in the sense that all of a sudden it becomes, maybe becomes an obligation to end your life rather than necessarily a choice.”
Opponents of the end-of-life care option believe the state should prioritize expanding palliative care to ensure greater comfort for individuals with terminal illnesses, rather than promoting medication to end suffering through death.
For more information about the NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s position against physician-assisted suicide, contact Bob Dunn, rdunn@rcbm.org. To receive regular updates about the NHCSP, contact Robin Schell at rschell@jjwpr.com.
Shining A Spotlight On Help And Resources For Our Veteran Community
Veterans Day is a time when we honor our Veterans each year– and think about ways we can help those prone to suicide, whether it is because they have suffered a life-altering brain injury or they have turned to substance misuse to ease the pain of what they have seen and endured in their lifetimes.
The NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention website (www.zerosuicidesnh.org) spotlighted several programs in place to help Veterans:
NAMI NH, partnering with the NH Suicide Prevention Council Military & Veterans Committee and the NH Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among SMVF (Service Members, Veterans, and Families) Team, has launched a free, one-hour Ask the Question online course for those “serving those who have served.”
Calling All Female Veterans: Join The NH Women Veterans Coalition
Become part of a new coalition dedicated to preventing Veteran suicide among women Veterans through empowerment and mutual support. The intention of this coalition is to create a safe, supportive space, offering resources, outreach, and opportunities for growth. For more information, please contact Jessica Dunn, Harbor Care, who is the facilitator/coalition leader at j.dunn@harborcarenh.org.