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 Assisted Suicide - Facts vs. Myth
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FACTSMyths
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Connecticut Senate Bill 1076 permits doctors to prescribe experimental drug combinations. In fact, "assisted suicide activists have been experimenting with lethal assisted suicide drug cocktails, for years, to find a cheaper way to cause death." Blog maintained by Alex Schadenberg, EPC International Chair, January 13, 2022. An article published in USA Today in February 2017 reported on the experiments that were done on people to find a cheaper lethal drug cocktail for assisted suicide. The article stated that assisted suicide researchers were experimenting on new generations of lethal drug cocktails. The results of the first two lethal drug cocktails were:
'The (first) turned out to be too harsh, burning patients’ mouths and throats, causing some to scream in pain. The second drug mix, used 67 times, has led to deaths that stretched out hours in some patients — and up to 31 hours in one case.'"
False: Assisted suicide drugs are safe and effective.
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White, wealthy participants are the major requesters of assisted suicide lethal drugs, according to reports in states where it is legal. Their access to this option imposes the cheaper assisted suicide “options” on populations who already fight to overcome unequal health care.

In Oregon in 2019, 96.3% of patients who requested assisted suicide were Non-Hispanic Whites
In Washington in 2018, 96% of requesters were Non-Hispanic Whites
In Colorado in 2019, 95.70% of requesters were Non-Hispanic Whites
In California in 2019, 87.2% of requesters were Non-Hispanic Whites

The State of Massachusetts held a referendum to legalize assisted suicide in 2012. It was unsuccessful, but the statistics are revealing:

In Northampton which is 88% white, 73% voted in favor of legalizing assisted suicide
In Shutesbury which is 94% white, 78% voted in favor of legalizing assisted suicide
In Lawrence which is 60% Hispanic and 5% Black, 68% voted against legalizing assisted suicide
In Springfield which is 28% Hispanic and 22% Black, 65% voted against legalizing assisted suicide

Assisted suicide is a threat to BIPOC’s struggle to get the standard of care and coverage they need. The Connecticut legislature should not abandon these populations.
False: Assisted suicide has no impact on people of color and healthcare disparity.
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Research reveals that assisted suicide safeguards "are ineffective, and often fail to protect patients in a variety of ways." *p11. For example, SB88 permits a "licensed clinical social worker" to determine if a patient is "competent" (line 16) and thus a "qualified patient" for assisted suicide (line 79) "through a person familiar with a patient's manner of communicating" - not necessarily the patient directly (lines 14-21). It seems very possible, through a careful reading of the bill, that "attending physicians" and "consulting physicians", can "make a determination that the patient . . is competent" or "verify competency" (lines 202 and 230) through the opinion of the social worker who communicated "through a person familiar with the patient's manner of communicating." Even through telehealth! See the definition of what "competent" is in Sec. 1(4). For more information, check out this PRAF flyer.
False: Safeguards can prevent problems or abuse.
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There is no guarantee of a peaceful death. From "Lethal Assisted Suicide Experimental Drug Combinations Put Patients at Risk" by Patients Rights Action Fund, General Complications from Lethal Drugs Used in Assisted Suicide Deaths: According to Kaiser Health News: “The first Seconal alternative turned out to be too harsh, burning patients’ mouths and throats, causing some to scream in pain.”[6] “The second drug mix, used 67 times, has led to deaths that stretched out hours in some patients – and up to 31 hours in one case...the next longest 29 hours, the third longest 16 hours and some 8 hours in length.”[7]. According to Anaesthesia: “However, for all these forms of assisted dying, there appears to be a relatively high incidence of vomiting (up to 10%), prolongation of death (up to 7 days), and re-awakening from coma (up to 4%), constituting failure of unconsciousness. This raises a concern that some deaths may be inhumane...”[8]
False: Assisted suicide guarantees a peaceful death.
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By far, most people chose assisted suicide (89.8% overall) because they are "Less able to engage in activities making life enjoyable". This is an existential crisis, not a pain management issue. Though sad, it is not a good enough reason to change public policy into one that endangers vulnerable people and fundamentally changes our society. With counseling, mental anquish can be alleviated and fear of pain addressed. Also from the Oregon 2020 Data Summary p.12, summarizing statistics from 1998 to 2000, reasons for assisted suicide: Losing autonomy - 90.6%, Loss of dignity - 73.6%, Burden on family, friends/caregivers - 47.5%, Losing control of bodily functions - 43.1%, Inadequate pain control, or concern about it - 27.4%, Financial implications of treatment - 4.5%. reporthttps://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Documents/year23.pdf
False: Assisted suicide is mostly for people who have inadequate pain control or concern about it.
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A Connecticut Superior Court determined that "Medical Aid in Dying" was just "assisted suicide" by another name. Blick v. Off. of Div. of Crim. 2010 Ct. Sup. 11992 (Conn. Super. Ct. 2010). Note the important reservations about assisted suicide by the court.
False: Assisted suicide and "Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)" are different.
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"There is evidence that patients, including people with disabilties are being denied treatment by insurers and offered assisted suicide instead, . . . " One week after assisted suicide became legal in her state, California resident and mother of four Stephanie Packer was offered assisted suicide for $1.20. HC, letter to the editor, 2/14/2022 and https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/go-away-and-die-message-received-by-stephanie-packer/, *p20
False: If a person doesn't want assisted suicide, they can always just receive medical treatment.
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"It is common for medical prognosis of a short life expectancy to be wrong." *p21 Additionally, doctors are not free from biases, prejudices, fraud and deception. In Connecticut, fraud among the elderly is especially accute. "• Approximately one in ten adults age 60 or older are abused each year, Cases of elder abuse remain vastly underreported • In almost 60% of elder abuse and neglect incidents, the perpetrator is a family member • Each year, at least $36.5 billion is lost by elder victims of financial abuse" State of Connecticut, Performance Audit, Protective Services for the Elderly, Aug. 11, 2021.
False: Doctors can accurately determine whether or not a patient diagnosed as terminally ill will die within 6 months and elderly people will be protected from fraud and abuse.
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SB 88 does not prevent people with depression from accessing assisted suicide. Only people who have impaired judgement as can be determined by a non-mental health professional. Where is the penalty for failing to refer to a licensed provider of mental health services? It also relies on the judgement of any "attending or consulting physician" to determine if "a patient may be suffering from a psychiatric or psychological condition" that "impairs judgement" (line 236). Determining whether a person with depression has "impaired judgement" is outside of the scope of practice for everyone except the most trained mental health professionals. See also case study of Michael Freeland and *at pages 23 to 26.
False: Connecticut's proposed bill would prevent people with depression from accessing assisted suicide.
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Surveys and polls used to show support for assisted suicide regularly use vague language and generally equate support for ending someone's pain with support for assisted suicide. A professional poll of Connecticut residents dedicated exclusively to the issue of physician assisted suicide, showed that residents overwhelmingly disapprove of physicians prescribing fatal drugs for patients. Even without accurately referring to the issue as “assisted suicide”, the poll still found…
A majority of Connecticut residents (55%) believe doctors should not be allowed to prescribe or administer fatal drugs. Additionally, only 21% believe doctors should be allowed to assist a patient in taking their own life.
False: Connecticut residents support assisted suicide.
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SB 88 prevents heirs from witnessing a request for assisted suicide (Sec 3), but that in no way prevents their influence over the patient or doctor shopping. In fact, the bill provides no "follow up" to determine, after probate, that heirs and assigns did not act as a witness. Many such materials would remain confidential under medical privacy rules and would take extraordinary effort by someone to discover. "'Shopping' for doctors is part of the US healthcare system, and an important right, though in context of assisted suicide, it creates an opporunity for sidestepping safeguards in the law." *p27 and case study of Kate Cheney whose daughter exhibited signs of pressuring her timid mother.
False: Safeguards can protect against doctor "shopping" to fulfill the wishes of otherwise ineligible patients, their heirs, family members or caregivers.
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"Oregon and Washington State statistics, minimal though they are, show a high rate of patents' concern about being a burden on others. Yet, assisted suicide laws have no protections for patients when financial or emotional pressures, sometimes from family, distort patient choice." [emphasis added] See case Thomas Middleton involving allegations of fraud after a broken promise of care, and *p28
False: Safeguards can protect against financial or emotional pressures.
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Broad immunity in legislation means "it is virtually impossible to disprove a claim of good faith, making all other safeguards effectively unenforceable." *p29 See also 2/26/2021 Testimony of State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice regarding assisted suicide bill and risk of not listing assisted suicide as cause of death. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/PHdata/Tmy/2021HB-06425-R000226-The%20Division%20of%20Criminal%20Justice-TMY.PDF
False: Legal safeguards protect against abuse.
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"Physicians can influence patients, even in ways they may not consciously appreciate. Patients seeking physician-assisted suicide may seek validation to end their lives. Indeed, studies have shown that socially. isolated vulnerable individuals seek social support and contact through visits with their physicians. [And] physicians can influence patients based on the physician's own potential fears of death and disability." [emphasis added] S.H Miles, "Physicians and Their Patients' Suicides," JAMA 271 (1994):1768-88 and *p30.
False: Physicians are adequate gatekeepers and can be unbiased in providing assisted suicide.
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Connecticut was the pioneer of hospice care! We can continue to provide quality end-of-life care without killing. "Anyone dying in discomfort that is not otherwise relievable may legally receive palliative sedation, wherein the patient is sedated to the point where the discomfort is relieved while the dying process takes place. So, there is already a legal solution to painful deaths that does not endanger others the way an assisted suicide law does." "Impact of Assisted Suicide Legislation on Disabled and BIPOC Communities.“John B. Kelly, New England Regional Director, Not Dead Yet, Director, Second Thoughts Massachusetts. Download available at http://www.ctfamily.org/the-liberal-case-against-assisted-suicide-2022/.
False: Assisted suicide is the only alternative for those with grim prognoses.
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See this article for an eye-opining account of the expansion of assisted suicide and euthanasia around the globe. https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/02/11/euthanasia-run-amok-aka-population-culling-16124. Once passed, "the restrictions tend to be innefective or inadequate" because of limitations on data collection and new proposals loosening and reducing rules. *Chapters 2 & 4. "The US assisted suicide lobby is expanding assisted suicide laws by: eliminating waiting periods, eliminating the 6 month terminal prognosis, allowing nurses and other medical providers to approve and participate in assisted suicide, eliminating residency requirements, and expanding assisted suicide laws to allow euthanasia (death by lethal injection rather than lethal prescription)." The US assisted suicide lobby plans for expanding assisted suicide laws." 11/22/21 Blog maintained by Alex Schadenberg, EPC International Chair, https://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-assisted-suicide-lobby-plans-to.html
False: Once passed, assisted suicide will not be expanded and can be controlled.
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"Studies show an increased rate of general suicide in states where assisted suicide is legal." *p.46
False: Suicide contagion is just a "slippery slope" argument.
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*The Danger of Assisted Suicide Laws, National Council on Disability, October 9, 2019. Can be found at https://www.ncd.gov/sites/default/files/NCD_Assisted_Suicide_Report_508.pdf
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The National Council on Disability is an independent federal agency charged with advising the President, Congress, and other federal agencies regarding policies, programs, practices, and procedures that affect people with disabilities. NCD is comprised of a team of Presidential and Congressional appointees, an Executive Director appointed by the Chair, and a full-time professional staff.
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This Facts vs. Wishful Thinking spreadsheet was prepared by Family Institute of Connecticut, 2/17/2022
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