A Coalition of Delaware Citizens working to stop the Legalization of Assisted Suicide and Promote a Culture of Life.
THE TRUTH ABOUT ASSISTED SUICIDE:
IT’S NOT AS DIGNIFIED AS IT SEEMS
Assisted Suicide (PAS) — currently legal in only six states and the District of Columbia — has been branded as a compassionate way for terminally ill patients to choose when and how they die. The reality is, the effects of PAS on patients and families aren’t compassionate or dignified at all.
LAWMAKERS WIDELY REJECT IT
Over the past two years, twenty-nine state legislatures have considered PAS legislation. Only ONE passed the bill into law.
LETHAL ADDICTIVE DRUGS GO UNUSED
If a patient fills the lethal prescription — typically 100 pills — but decides against taking it, there are no safeguards to ensure the drugs stay out of the hands of children and prescription drug dealers. In Oregon, 468 people have filled their prescription and decided not to end their lives, leaving tens of thousands of highly addictive barbiturates unaccounted for. 1, 2
TAXPAYERS FOOT THE BILL
Taxpayers in Oregon and California pay for the lethal drugs and doctor visits. California’s Medicaid program has budgeted $2.3 million taxpayer dollars for the first fiscal year PAS is legal. President Bill Clinton prohibited using federal funds to subsidize PAS, leaving states to foot the bill. 3
IT AFFECTS OVERALL SUICIDE RATES
Since passing a PAS law in 1997, Oregon has seen a 49.3% increase in non-assisted suicides. PAS laws make suicide socially acceptable. As a result, Oregon’s overall suicide rate is 41% higher than the national rate. Just reading about PAS can serve as a trigger for those contemplating suicide. 4
MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS ARE IGNORED
Only 4% of patients who died from PAS in Washington state were referred for a mental health evaluation. Suicidal patients aren’t given resources they deserve, like being screened for depression by a mental health care provider. 5
IT’S IMPERSONAL
These lethal drugs are often administered by physicians who barely know their patients. More than half of patients who died from the lethal drug in Washington state only knew their prescribing physician for six months or less. 6
1 Washington State Department of Health, Death with Dignity Act Frequently Asked Questions. 2 www.deathwithdignity.org/faqs. 3 The American Presidency Project, “Statement on Signing the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997”. 4 European Commission, Press Release, 12/20/2011. 5 www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742070_3. 6 Washington State Department of Health, Death with Dignity Act Report 2015, pg. 11.
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