….from the Medical Society of Delaware. Which was to be expected. And the opposition is not preemptive. The Associated Press contacted them for a statement on Rep. Baumbach’s potential bill, and they offered their opinion. From the AP story:
Rep. Paul Baumbach, a Newark Democrat, said he doesn’t know when he’ll introduce the so-called “death with dignity” bill, which is modeled on legislation from Oregon. Oregon is one of only five states that allow assisted suicide and was the first to allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients.
“We’re making sure we’re getting enough input so that by the time we introduce it, it has its best chance to go forward,” Baumbach said this week.
But the Medical Society of Delaware, keeping with policies of the American Medical Association, already has come out against the measure.
“The Medical Society of Delaware strongly opposes any bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia, as these practices are fundamentally inconsistent with the physician’s role as healer,” the society said in a prepared statement.
“When the treatment goals for a patient in the end stages of a terminal illness shift from curative efforts to comfort care, the level of physician involvement in the patient’s care should in no way decrease,” the statement added.
The proposed legislation would likely allow assisted suicide only in cases where a patient has been told by their doctor that they have a short time to live, like six months or less. The legislation would provide that only the patient is authorized to make this decision, and a family member and the doctor would be required to witness the procedure.
This, along with Marijuana Legalization, are the next big socially progressive / socially libertarian reforms to be considered by society, and by extension, the General Assembly. I don’t expect either to pass right away this session, but these reforms are coming eventually. And opposition is to be expected. Still, if you are going to die, and there is no hope for a cure, and your final weeks as you approach the end are going to be horrific in terms of pain, who doesn’t want to have that choice?