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Endorsements of Death with Dignity Legislation

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Endorsements of Death with Dignity Legislation NATIONAL CENT ER www.deathwithdignity.org Endorsements of Death with Dignity Legislation HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ENDORSED ASSISTED DYING AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION "...supports allowing a mentally competent, terminally ill adult to obtain a prescription for medication that the person could self-administer to control the time, place, and manner of his or her impending death, where safeguards equivalent to those in the Oregon Death with Dignity Act are in place." AMERICAN MEDICAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION "...supports the right of terminally ill patients to hasten what might otherwise be a protracted, undignified, or extremely painful death. AMWA believes the physician should have the right to engage in practice wherein they may provide a terminally ill patient with, but not administer, a lethal dose of medication and/or medical knowledge, so that the patient can, without further assistance, hasten his/her death. "AMWA supports the passage of aid in dying laws which empower mentally competent, terminally ill patients and protect participating physicians, such as that passed in Oregon, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act." AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LEGAL MEDICINE "...recognizes patient autonomy and the right of a mentally competent, though terminally ill, person to hasten what might otherwise be objectively considered a protracted, undignified or painful death, provided, however, that such person strictly complies with law specifically enacted to regulate and control such a right." AMERICAN MEDICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION "...supports passage of aid-in-dying laws that empower terminally ill patients who have decisional capacity to hasten what might otherwise be a protracted, undignified or extremely painful death." 1 OTHER ENDORSING HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS • American Nurses Association of California • Boulder County Medical Society • California Psychological Association • California Primary Care Association • Denver Medical Society • GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS WITH A NEUTRAL POSITION AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION STATE CHAPTERS As of January 2018, ten state chapters of the AMA as well as the District of Columbia chapter have withdrawn opposition to assisted dying and adopted a neutral position: • California • Colorado • Hawai‘i • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Nevada • Oregon • Vermont • Washington • Washington, D.C. California Medical Association “As physicians, we want to provide the best care possible for our patients. However, despite the remarkable medical breakthroughs we’ve made and the world-class hospice or palliative care we can provide, it isn’t always enough. The decision to participate in the End of Life Option Act is a very personal one between a doctor and their patient, which is why CMA has removed policy that outright objects to physicians aiding terminally ill patients in end of life options. We believe it is up to the individual physician and their patient to decide voluntarily whether the End of Life Option Act is something in which they want to engage. Protecting that physician-patient relationship is essential." Massachusetts Medical Society “The Massachusetts Medical Society adopted the position of neutral engagement, which allows the organization to serve as a medical and scientific resource as part of legislative efforts that will support shared decision making between terminally ill patients and their trusted physicians. If medical aid-in-dying is legalized, the MMS will support its members with clinical and legal considerations through education, advocacy and other resources, regardless of whether the member physician chooses to practice medical aid-in-dying.” Vermont Medical Society “Even when physicians use all the tools at hand to care for pain and suffering, a small number of patients still suffer. The Vermont Medical Society recognizes that medical aid in dying, in the form of Vermont Act 39, is a legal option that could be made in the context of the physician-patient relationship.” AMERICAN ACADEMY OF HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE MEDICINE "Excellent medical care, including state-of-the-art palliative care, can control most symptoms and augment 2 NATIONAL CENT ER patients' psychosocial and spiritual resources to relieve most suffering near the end of life. "On occasion, however, severe suffering persists; in such a circumstance a patient may ask his physician for assistance in ending his life by providing physician-assisted death (PAD). PAD is defined as a physician providing, at the patient's request, a lethal medication that the patient can take by his own hand to end otherwise intolerable suffering. The term...captures the essence of the process in a more accurately descriptive fashion than the more emotionally charged designation physician-assisted suicide. "AAHPM takes a position of ‘studied neutrality’ on the subject of whether PAD should be legally regulated or prohibited, believing its members should instead continue to strive to find the proper response to those patients whose suffering becomes intolerable despite the best possible palliative care. Whether or not legalization occurs, AAHPM supports intense efforts to alleviate suffering and to reduce any perceived need for PAD." OTHER HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS WITH A NEUTRAL POSITION • National: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Psychological Association, American Pharmacists Association, Oncology Nursing Association • California: California Academy of Family Physicians, California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California • Nevada: Nevada Psychiatric Association, Nevada State Board of Pharmacy • Elsewhere: Hawai‘i Psychological Association, Vermont Psychiatric Association, Washington State Psychological Association ENDORSEMENTS BY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION "The ACLU supports aid in dying legislation because we believe people should have the liberty to make personal and intimate decisions not just about how to live but also about how to die." "The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. The exercise of this right is as central to personal autonomy and bodily integrity as rights safeguarded by this Court's decisions relating to marriage, family relationships, procreation, contraception, child rearing and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment. In particular, [US Supreme] Court's recent decisions concerning the right to refuse medical treatment and the right to abortion instruct that a mentally competent, terminally ill person has a protected liberty interest in choosing to end intolerable suffering by bringing about his or her own death. A state's categorical ban on physician assistance to suicide—as applied to competent, terminally ill patients who wish to avoid unendurable pain and hasten inevitable death — substantially interferes with this protected liberty interest and cannot be sustained." SECULAR COALITION FOR AMERICA "We remain vigilant and will not stand by as the [Catholic C]hurch attempts to impose its religious dogma on terminally- ill individuals. We are appalled by this cold disregard for suffering and the church's willingness to trample upon an individual's right to make this decision according to their own conscience We will continue working with our partners and allies until terminally-ill patients in every state are empowered with this fundamental human right." "No one suffering from a terminal illness should be forced to suffer unwillingly, and it is wrong to deny a dying person the opportunity to exercise personal autonomy in their end of life choices. No one should 3 NATIONAL CENT ER be forced to live or die according to someone else's beliefs. We're simply asking [lawmakers] to respect a terminally ill individual's right to make the choice that's best for them." OTHER NONPROFITS THAT HAVE ENDORSED AID IN DYING • National: • American Association for Suicidology • Coalition for Liberty & Justice • National Association of Social Workers • National Hispanic Council on Aging • Nursing Advocates and Mentors • Older Women's League • California: • California Church IMPACT • California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church • Hawai‘i: • Advocates for Consumer Rights • Americans for Democratic Action Hawai‘i • Chamber of Commerce for Persons with Disabilities Hawai‘i • First Unitarian Church of Honolulu • Hawai‘i Association for Justice • Hawai‘i Filipino-American Advocacy Network • Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights • Hawai‘i International Longshore and Warehouse Union • Interfaith Alliance Hawai‘i • Nevada: • AARP Nevada • Libertarian Party of Nevada • Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada RECENT MEDIA ENDORSEMENTS • National: New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post • California: The Desert Sun, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Diego City Beat, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News • Colorado: Aurora Sentinel, Boulder Daily Camera, Durango Herald, The Coloradoan, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, The Greeley Tribune, The Pueblo Chieftain • Elsewhere: • Florida Sun Sentinel (FL) • Honolulu Civil Beat (HI) • The Des Moines Register (IA) • The Herald Bulletin (IN) • The Frederick News-Post (MD) • Brockton Enterprise, The Berkshire Eagle (MA) • Minnesota Daily (MN) • Asbury Park Press, My Central New Jersey, Press of Atlantic City, The Star Ledger, Times of Trenton (NJ) • Albuquerque Journal (NM) • Albany Times Union, Buffalo News, Times Herald-Record (NY) • Tulsa World (OK) 4.
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