“Medical Aid In Dying: Fancy Words For Giving Up On People Like Me”

You can call it Medical Aid in Dying. You can call it Physician-Assisted Suicide. You can call it “End of Life Freedom Act”, as the latest piece of assisted suicide legislation in NH has been labeled. But please call it what it is. It’s suicide.

There are those who say this bill gives people who are suffering from a terminal illness the choice to end their lives when they want to, on their terms. That’s still suicide, by the way. What’s wrong with making sure they have access to palliative care, so they are comfortable in their final weeks of life?

It is important to think about the impact of this bill on those most vulnerable to suicide. Are we sending the message that “suicide is OK in certain circumstances?” How is it that NH can pour financial resources into suicide prevention programs while simultaneously saying, it’s OK to kill yourself?

We have seen how the definition of who qualifies for physician-assisted suicide can expand in the blink of an eye. There is a reason that disability rights groups worry that the expansion of a bill like this could include people with disabilities and that they may be coerced into taking medication to end their life instead of being given care. After all, it’s less expensive.

Rep. Bob Lynn himself said he could not say that these abuses “would never happen.” He’s right, because we’ve seen it happen in Canada where they just put legislation that would allow people with mental illnesses to be eligible for medical aid in dying “on hold”. We’ve seen examples of veterans looking for help that have been offered MAiD as a solution. That’s just wrong.

Essentially, we can call this 'medical assistance in dying' but -- that's just fancy words for giving up on differently-abled people like me. Once the door to assisted suicide is opened, it will be very difficult to close.

Please call your legislators and tell them to vote NO on HB254.

Melinda Simms

Concord, NH

USAF Veteran and Disability Advocate