Congressmen Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M., (R-Ohio) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution “expressing the sense of Congress that legalizing physician-assisted suicide puts the most vulnerable of our society at risk of deadly harm and undermines the integrity of America’s healthcare system.”In its October 2019 report entitled “The Danger of Assisted Suicide Laws,” the National Council on Disability recommended Congress enact the resolution, which Reps. Wenstrup and Correa have introduced in the 116th and 115th Congresses.Cosponsors of the resolution include Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Matt Cartwright (D-Penn.), Andy Harris, M.D., (R-Md.), and James Langevin (D-R.I.).You can read the full resolution here.“Physician-assisted suicide devalues human life and puts the most vulnerable among us –seniors, individuals with disabilities, and people dealing with psychiatric diagnoses – at grave risk,” said Congressman Wenstrup. “As a country, we must do better and instead focus on providing the most comprehensive medical care possible to individuals nearing the end of their lives. We cannot lose sight of the undeniable fact that every life has value.”“Americans with terminal illnesses and disabilities deserve access to quality health care and should not have their opportunity for a dignified life taken away from them. I have various concerns with assisted suicide laws and proposals that may adversely affect patients. This resolution intends to protect vulnerable patients across the country from any attempts to pressure them into assisted suicide,” said Congressman Lou Correa.
“Our society places a high value on ability and stigmatizes significant disability. It’s no surprise that those of us with a wide variety of disabilities see disability as a huge loss of worth and place in our society,” said Darrell Lynn Jones, Interim Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living. “Some people with disabilities may go through a time where they feel they might be better off dead. As one struggles to get basic needs met, some people feel worn down. If assisted suicide had been legal in the past, even if it were supposedly only for those with ‘terminal’ conditions, I might not be here today. I’m grateful that assisted suicide was not legal back then, and I’m committed to keeping it that way. This is an important reason why the National Council on Independent Living opposes assisted suicide laws. NCIL is a leader in the disability rights movement, our political struggle for equal rights.”
“Where assisted suicide is legal, it is inevitable that some people’s lives will be ended without their consent due to implicit bias, mistakes, or coercion. No safeguards, existing or proposed, are adequate enough to prevent these abuses, and the lack of oversight only increases the danger to already at-risk individuals,” said Michelle Uzeta, Of Counsel, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. “Our priority should be on improving and expanding health care services that people with disabilities and all marginalized communities rely on to live, instead of making it easier to end our lives.”
Original source can be found here.
