Assisted Suicide & Cross Aisle Alliances

http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/legislature-again-prepare-to-debate-divisive-ideas/article_98e87a62-80a8-585a-a641-6518acab5556.html?print=true&cid=print

Physician-assisted suicide promises to create lively debate, and "occasional cross-aisle allegiances."

23 hours ago  •  Associated Press

 

Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock are all saying they want to get along this session _ plans that could be tested by a long list of controversial issues.

The House and Senate leaders say their focus will be on core issues like spurring more natural resource development and revamping education funding. They are urging members of the majority caucus to bring forward solutions that matter to Montanans _ and can get the signature of a Democratic governor.

"I am hoping that we can dedicate ourselves on focusing on issues that matter to the people of Montana," incoming Senate President Jeff Essmann, a Billings businessman, said in a recent interview.

His counterpart in the House, Somers restaurant owner Mark Blasdel, said he wants substantive action and not fiery rhetoric.

"Assisted suicide in Washington and Oregon is a recipe for elder abuse and cloaked in secrecy"

http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/mailbag/oregon-washington-assisted-suicide-laws-include-no-protections-for-patients/article_074c4378-507b-11e2-8348-001a4bcf887a.html

By, Margaret Dore, Esq.

 

Supporting documentation follows letter, below.

I disagree with Susan Hancock’s description of how the Washington and Oregon assisted suicide laws work.   (Dec. 20, guest column)  I disagree that assisted suicide cannot be forced upon an unwilling person.

The Oregon and Washington assisted suicide acts have a formal application process. The acts allow an heir, who will benefit from the patient’s death, to actively participate in this process.

Once the lethal dose is issued by the pharmacy, there is no oversight. For example, there is no witness required at the death. Without disinterested witnesses, the opportunity is created for an heir, or for another person who will benefit from the patient’s death, to administer the lethal dose to the patient without his consent. One method would be by injection when the patient is sleeping. The drugs used in Oregon and Washington are water soluble and therefore injectable. If the patient woke up and struggled, who would know?

The Washington and Oregon acts require the state health departments to collect statistical information for the purpose of annual reports. According to these reports, users of assisted-suicide are overwhelmingly white and generally well-educated. Many have private insurance. Most are age 65 and older. Typically persons with these attributes are seniors with money, which would be the middle class and above, a group disproportionately at risk of financial abuse and exploitation.

The forms used to collect the statistical information do not ask about abuse. Moreover, not even law enforcement is allowed to access information about a particular case. Alicia Parkman a mortality research analyst at the Center for Health Statistics, Oregon Health Authority, wrote me: “We have been contacted by law enforcement and legal representatives in the past, but have not provided identifying information of any type.“

Assisted suicide in Washington and Oregon is a recipe for elder abuse and cloaked in secrecy. Don’t make our mistake.

Supporting documentation below.

Margaret Dore, Esq.

Seattle, Wash.

MAAS files New Lawsuit Against Board

On Monday, December 17, 2012, MAAS filed a new lawsuit against the Montana Board of Medical Examiners.

The lawsuit is a response to the Board's order entered on November 16, 2012 refusing to vacate Position Statement No. 20.   The lawsuit's claims include that the statement is invalid because it was adopted "without statutory authorization, . . . outside the Board's subject matter jurisdiction and/or because it is an infringement on the role of the Legislature." 

The petition for the lawsuit can be viewed by clicking here.  The attachments to that petition can be viewed by clicking here and here.

Gazette opinion: Time to update Montana elder abuse law

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/gazette-opinion-time-to-update-montana-elder-abuse-law/article_566c1b0a-9111-58e7-bc99-15b19e833f66.html?print=true&cid=print

The Montana Elder and Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act was intended to protect especially vulnerable citizens. But the statute isn’t used as often as it should be in criminal cases.