State Senator Brad Hoylman rightly acknowledges that “suffering, terminally ill people deserve peace of mind and comfort”. However, despite the compassionate language used, his proposed Medical Aid in Dying bill essentially allows for the killing of those who are suffering, in order to relieve the citizens and leaders of New York from their obligation to meet the needs of the dying.
Before considering physician-assisted suicide as an option, it is important to understand the reasoning behind it. According to bioethicist Charles Camosy, “physical pain and suffering don’t even make the top five reasons people request it… Pain is not a driving factor to physician-assisted suicide because for most terminally ill people, pain can be controlled through palliative care.” The main reasons why people choose physician-assisted suicide are largely interpersonal, such as “loss of autonomy, decreased ability to engage in enjoyable activities, loss of dignity, loss of control of bodily functions, and becoming a burden on others”.
This reasoning highlights a despairing trend: suffering people would rather die than be dependent on those around them. Therefore, the community’s attitude towards the dying may influence the patient’s decision to seek physician-assisted suicide. Moreover, when continuing to live becomes a choice, dependency becomes a choice. This reinforces terminally ill people’s misperception that they are a burden to others when they simply could choose not to be. Each fear that drives patients to seek physician-assisted suicide can be experienced by people who are not terminally ill. If death is a right, can it be denied from those who suffer but are not actively dying?
Canada’s growing support for assisted suicide as a “solution” to poverty, homelessness, and mental illness should serve as a warning. Instead of meeting the needs of the dying, the state meets its own need for “peace of mind and comfort” by hastening the death of the vulnerable. Physician-assisted suicide offers the most convenient (and cheapest) option for everyone surrounding the dying, reinforcing harmful societal attitudes towards the sick. Additionally, the inability to properly safeguard against coercion is one reason the American Medical Association and the World Medical Organization oppose PAS.
Physician-assisted suicide cannot be defended as a personal freedom due to its interpersonal nature; it devastatingly redefines our collective understanding of law, medicine, and care. The laws promoting assisted suicide teach the culture that some lives are not worth living, and mounting evidence shows that overall suicide rates are higher in jurisdictions that have enacted PAS. When the state offers suicide to some and suicide prevention to others, it sets a discriminatory standard, favoring the strong over the weak.
Sen. Hoylman cites Oregon’s “original” law as a blueprint for New York’s proposal, claiming that it would respect certain parameters. However, Oregon has failed to uphold its original parameters, which should give us pause. Furthermore, its current law offers physician-assisted suicide to out-of-state patients, and a new bill has been proposed that would dramatically reduce waiting periods, remove witness requirements, and allow non-doctors to prescribe lethal medications.
The end of life offers unique opportunities for the dying and for their caretakers. The dying are peacemakers, and by bending to their needs, the hearts of the community are softened and humbled. We need these gifts of the dying. Suffering, terminally ill people deserve creative solutions for a better quality of life and better quality of care, not suicide. They deserve to know that their dignity can never be lost.
Cecelia Lester, the Vice President of Feminists Choosing Life of NY, authored this article.
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