We are California Democrats and we are terrified of assisted suicide laws. We have a severely disabled daughter who is in the institutional care of the State of California.
Given the long and notorious history of euthanasia, we are hoping you will approve HB 505 to put an end to the deceptions about this "cause." We believe this is necessary to discourage assisted suicide from coming here to California, if it is not stopped in Montana. We don't believe there are any effective safeguards against its possible abuses.
In our case personally, we fear physician assisted suicide could be sold here in Califolrnia as a means to prematurely terminate difficult disability cases like our daughters', to supposedly save money for relatives and caregivers, even while it is made to appear as a "choice."
Please vote "YES" on HB 505.
Jeffrey R. Golin
Monday, February 25, 2013
Oregon Lawyer: "Without transparency, our law is not safe."
Dear Montana Representative:
I understand that HB 505 will strengthen Montana law against assisting suicide, including physician-assisted suicide. For that reason I write in support of that bill.
I am a lawyer in Oregon who specializes in injury claims, including wrongful death cases. I write to inform you that our law lacks transparency and that even law enforcement is denied access to information collected by the state. Moreover, this is official state policy.
In 2010, I was retained by a client whose father had died under our assisted-suicide act. Unlike other deaths I have investigated, it was difficult to get basic information.
I understand that HB 505 will strengthen Montana law against assisting suicide, including physician-assisted suicide. For that reason I write in support of that bill.
I am a lawyer in Oregon who specializes in injury claims, including wrongful death cases. I write to inform you that our law lacks transparency and that even law enforcement is denied access to information collected by the state. Moreover, this is official state policy.
In 2010, I was retained by a client whose father had died under our assisted-suicide act. Unlike other deaths I have investigated, it was difficult to get basic information.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
WE WON! HB 505 VOTED OUT OF COMMITTEE!
On Thursday, February 20, 2013, HB 505 was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee!
The vote to pass was 12 to 8!
Our next step is to pass out of the House. The vote on the floor will most likely occur next week.
HB 505 is a short and simple bill that clarifies the offense of aiding or soliciting suicide. The bill’s other purpose is to prevent the legalization of assisted suicide in Montana. To view a copy of the bill click here. For more detailed information, click here.
HB 505 is consistent with Montana's civil law in which persons who cause or fail to prevent another person’s suicide can be found civilly liable.[1] This is typically in a hospital or jail setting.[2]
HB 505 is needed now because the former Hemlock Society, Compassion & Choices, is falsely and aggressively claiming that assisted suicide is legal in Montana. Indeed, C & C refers to Montana as the “third state” along with Oregon and Washington.
A lie or half truth repeated enough times becomes the truth.
With a yes vote on HB 505, the law will be clear that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana. There will be a clear tool for law enforcement and other interested parties to stop the propaganda. There will be a clear means to protect Montana citizens, especially the elderly.
Please tell your legislators to vote Yes!
Footnotes:
[1] See Krieg v. Massey, 239 Mont. 469, 472-3 (1989) and Nelson v. Driscoll, 295 Mont. 363, Para 32-33 (1999). Other cases include Edwards v. Tardif, 240 Conn. 610, 692 A.2d 1266 (1997) (affirming a civil judgment against a physician who had prescribed an ”excessively large dosage” of barbiturates to a suicidal patient who then killed herself with the barbiturates).
[2] Id.
The vote to pass was 12 to 8!
Our next step is to pass out of the House. The vote on the floor will most likely occur next week.
HB 505 is a short and simple bill that clarifies the offense of aiding or soliciting suicide. The bill’s other purpose is to prevent the legalization of assisted suicide in Montana. To view a copy of the bill click here. For more detailed information, click here.
HB 505 is consistent with Montana's civil law in which persons who cause or fail to prevent another person’s suicide can be found civilly liable.[1] This is typically in a hospital or jail setting.[2]
HB 505 is needed now because the former Hemlock Society, Compassion & Choices, is falsely and aggressively claiming that assisted suicide is legal in Montana. Indeed, C & C refers to Montana as the “third state” along with Oregon and Washington.
A lie or half truth repeated enough times becomes the truth.
With a yes vote on HB 505, the law will be clear that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana. There will be a clear tool for law enforcement and other interested parties to stop the propaganda. There will be a clear means to protect Montana citizens, especially the elderly.
Please tell your legislators to vote Yes!
Footnotes:
[1] See Krieg v. Massey, 239 Mont. 469, 472-3 (1989) and Nelson v. Driscoll, 295 Mont. 363, Para 32-33 (1999). Other cases include Edwards v. Tardif, 240 Conn. 610, 692 A.2d 1266 (1997) (affirming a civil judgment against a physician who had prescribed an ”excessively large dosage” of barbiturates to a suicidal patient who then killed herself with the barbiturates).
[2] Id.
Labels:
assisted suicide,
HB 505
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Oregon doctor could not save patient from assisted suicide
I am a doctor in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. A few years ago, I was caring for a 76-year-old man who presented to my office a sore on his arm, eventually diagnosed as melanoma. I referred him to specialists for evaluation and therapy.
I had known this patient and his wife for more than a decade. He was an avid hiker, a popular hobby here in Oregon. As his disease progressed, he was less able to do this activity, becoming depressed, which was documented in his chart.
During this time, my patient expressed a wish for assisted suicide to one of the specialists. Rather than take the time to address his depression, or ask me as his primary care physician to talk with him, she called me and asked me to be the “second opinion” for his suicide. She told me that barbiturate overdoses “work very well” for patients like this, and that she had done this many times before.
I told her that assisted suicide was not appropriate for this patient and that I did not concur. I was very concerned about my patient’s mental state, and told her that addressing his underlying issues would be better than simply giving him a lethal prescription. Unfortunately, my concerns were ignored, and two weeks later my depressed patient was dead from an overdose prescribed by this doctor.
Under Oregon’s law, I was not able to protect my depressed patient. If assisted suicide becomes legal in Montana, you may not be able to protect your friends or family members.
I urge you to contact your legislators to tell them to keep assisted suicide out of Montana. Don’t make Oregon’s mistake.
Dr. Charles J. Bentz
Portland, Ore.
Labels:
Charles Bentz MD,
Oregon,
Physician-assisted suicide
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