Quick reminder that tomorrow (Wed @ 10am) is the Senate Committee hearing for HB1283, a bill to legalize assisted suicide. It will be in NH’s Legislative Office Building, room 103 (note room change from earlier).
Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to steve@granitegrok.com.
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Please share this with friends or family you think would also be against legalizing assisted suicide.
You have several opportunities to stand up for the vulnerable among us by helping to defeat HB1283:
1) Pray that the Senate HHS committee and the NH Senate as a whole would vote down this bill
2) Register your opposition to HB1283 through the Gencourt website by 8am tomorrow morning (select Senate Health and Human Services, select HB1283, tell them “I Oppose this Bill”, and click “Continue”).
3) Email the Senate HHS Committee to tell them that you oppose HB1283. Their email addresses are: Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us, Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us, Jeb.Bradley@leg.state.nh.us, Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us, Suzanne.Prentiss@leg.state.nh.us, cameron.lapine@leg.state.nh.us
4) Testify in person if you are available tomorrow @ 10am in NH’s Legislative Office Building (33 N State St, Concord, NH), room 103.
If you do come in person, please do not wear yellow, as many of the pro-suicide community uses that to identify themselves.
5) Contact your own Senator: It’s not too early to call or email your own Senator, and let them know that you oppose state-sanctioned suicide. You can find their contact info here.
For Life,
Jason Hennessey
President, NH Right to Life
Key talking points on HB1283:
- Works against our efforts to prevent suicide. The data shows that all suicides go up when states legalize assisted suicide. By about 6.3% for the whole population, and 14.5% among individuals over 65. [full paper]
- Based on CDC data, this could reverse the several-year trend of declining suicides in the state based on the work of the NH Suicide Prevention Council and others.
- In Oregon, patients like Barbara Wagner & Randy Stroup were denied life-saving treatments and offered suicide instead. Will insurance companies prioritize profit over patients?
- With an increasing percentage of medical expenditures being funneled through government programs, we cannot allow death to be added to the available cost containment menu (from House Majority leader Jason Osborne)
- Having physicians assist in suicide reduces trust in healthcare providers, which is why it is prohibited by the Hippocratic Oath
- Legalizing assisted suicide could lead to a slippery slope, with the potential for expansion to include those with chronic but treatable conditions like diabetes and HIV. Colorado has even had assisted suicides for mental health issues like anorexia, with a law similar to HB1283.
- No residency requirement. NH could become a death tourism destination, creating a profitable industry that then lobbies for expansions.
- All prominent disability organizations (state and national) that have taken a position oppose Assisted Suicide legislation due to disproportional affect they have on those living with disabilities.
Points that may resonate more with Democrats:
- The bill could worsen existing healthcare inequities, making death a more accessible option than life-saving treatment for vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities.
- The National Council on Disability extensively documented the negative effects of Assisted Suicide on disabled individuals in a 70 page paper.
