Proponents of HB1283 argue that, per a UNH survey, 71% of the people of NH were in favor of assisted suicide. After obtaining the survey and speaking with UNH, I found out that the NH Alliance for End-of-Life Options paid $1800 for the survey.
I am not challenging the intent of HB 1283 (the assisted suicide bill) itself, but it has many flaws.
The second survey question asks, “Do you identify as having a disability?” It then goes on to describe “Disability” in detail. That sent up a huge red flag, and when I asked the Director of the Alliance why ask this question, she could offer no explanation. I also was able to uncover that the poll was conducted with the Granite State Panel, which receives compensation for surveys they participate in. Related: Slippery Meet Slope …
I have multiple concerns about the assisted suicide bill HB1283.
There is no residency requirement. This means that technically anyone in the world can come to New Hampshire with a terminal illness to end their life.
The term Health Care entity, as described, “means an entity or institution, other than an individual, that is licensed to provide any form of health care in the State “can include a weight loss clinic, a Medi spa., or a dentist office.
A Health Care provider, as per RSA 329, “329:1 Practice. – Any person shall be regarded as practicing medicine under the meaning of this chapter who shall diagnose, treat, perform surgery, or prescribe any treatment of medicine for any disease or human ailment. “Surgery” means any procedure, including but not limited to laser, in which human tissue is cut, shaped, burned, vaporized, or otherwise structurally altered, except that this section shall not apply to any person to whom authority is given by any other statute to perform acts which might otherwise be deemed the practice of medicine. “Laser” means light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” used to prescribe or consult in this process is very vague.
This means that two Nurse Practitioners whom you have never met before would be able to set up a clinic to exclusively provide access to assisted suicide since there is nothing in the Bill that requires the involvement of your treating Physician. It doesn’t even say that your Medical Record has to come from your treating physician.
We want to thank Rep Kristine Perez for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.
Home Health and Hospice require an individual to be perceived (as) in their last six months of life as determined by their regular treating physician and a hospice physician. They must also have a Palliative performance scale of < or = to 50-60%, dependence of 3 or their 6 ADLs, and stop treatment of their condition.
None of these are requirements for ending one’s life in this Bill. There is no mention of the treating physician’s involvement at all.
Page 2: lines 18- 20: All providers are qualified to make a diagnosis and prognosis, although “there is no standard life expectancy for a patient to be considered terminal”, according to Wikipedia
Line 25: This is stated to be self-administered, yet no witness is required. How do we know what happens to the drugs once obtained? Vermont said that a percentage of individuals don’t actually use them, and if so, what happens to this deadly cocktail in that case? This Bill has no provision for that as well.
Page 3: IV: Who provides the health record? Is it obtained from the treating physician? Who requests it or can the individual just bring it in complete or incomplete and does it say that their life expectancy is less than 6 months?
Page 4: line 2: “end my life in a peaceful manner.” The Canadian Association of MAID “acknowledges that patients who ingest assisted suicide drugs can experience burning, nausea, vomiting, regurgitation especially if the patient has difficulty swallowing large volume of liquids.” Seizures can also be a side effect of these drugs. Oregon reports that 14.8% of individuals have reported experiencing difficulty swallowing or drug regurgitation, as well as seizures. We have peaceful in the Bill, but there is certainly no guarantee of that.
Page 5: line 9: Allows the lethal prescription to be picked up 48 hours after prescribed. This is a very short time and doesn’t allow for the reality of the situation to be absorbed.
Page 6+ eliminates any liability for anyone or any place . That is also a red flag. No liability for the initial prescribing individual or the consulting individual!
Page 7: lines 9-12 states that “Actions taken in accordance with this chapter shall not be construed for any purpose to constitute suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, mercy killing, homicide or adult abuse under the law.” Why is this in there? I could not find a definition for MAiD without assisted suicide being mentioned. MAiD is medically assisted suicide.
Lines 18-20: Coercion: Earlier in this Bill, it was stated that one could not coerce an individual to participate in MAiD. No consequences were stated for such action. Yet if one attempts to stop an individual from following through on their MAiD, it is a class B felony! Why?
Page 8: lines 32-36: we cannot dictate to insurance companies (life. Health. Accident, or annuities) that they would be required to forgo the terms of their policies. I spoke with two insurance agents who expressed great concerns. They also questioned why accident and annuities were included.
Page 9: Death Certificate: Why is this not on the certificate? The terminal illness should perhaps be the primary cause of death, and MAiD the secondary. Causes of death are used for statistical reasons and to track life expectancy for diagnosed conditions.
This Bill is also against the Platform of Republican Principles.
The National Council on Disabilities is against MAiD, as is the State Veterans Affairs Council and numerous other groups in the State and the Nation.
