Swordsmyth
02-01-2018, 02:30 PM
Delaware lawmakers are considering legislation that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, including that of “intellectually disabled” patients who may not be able to provide meaningful consent.
The Delaware End of Life Options Act was introduced by Representative Paul Baumbach, a Democrat. The bill was voted out of committee last year, so the full House of Representatives could bring it up for a vote as early as March, when the legislature’s next session begins.
Baumbach insists (https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/02/death-with-dignity/101203748/) his bill concerns “not a life or death decision” but a “death or death decision” because it authorizes doctors to administer lethal drugs only to patients who have “an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within 6 months.”
Critics have pointed out one major loophole in this definition: What about someone, such as a diabetic, whose illness is “incurable and irreversible” but nevertheless treatable? If the patient were not treated, his illness could kill him within six months. Would he therefore qualify as having a terminal disease under the bill’s terms?
If the legislation only went this far, it would be bad enough. But an amendment (http://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=26262) Baumbach proposed recently makes it even worse by enabling physicians to kill intellectually disabled patients with supposedly terminal illnesses.
The bill defines “intellectual disability” as “a disability, that originated before the age of 18, characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills.” And it authorizes a doctor to terminate that person’s life if “a licensed clinical social worker” certifies that the patient understands what assisted suicide entails.
This is truly alarming. As National Review’s Wesley Smith (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/455665/delaware-push-intellectually-disabled-assisted-suicide) observed, “These are people who can’t legally enter contracts! They can’t control where they live! They can’t make their own medical decisions! They also can’t vote, pursuant to the Delaware Constitution! … Yet, if they have a terminal illness, they are going to be able to commit assisted suicide if a social worker — who may be ideologically predisposed in favor — confirms that they ‘understand’ that they are receiving a poison prescription?”
“It doesn’t even require approval of a guardian, as would corrective surgery or treatment to cure or palliate,” he added.
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/28173-delaware-considers-legalizing-assisted-suicide-including-for-intellectually-disabled-patients
The Delaware End of Life Options Act was introduced by Representative Paul Baumbach, a Democrat. The bill was voted out of committee last year, so the full House of Representatives could bring it up for a vote as early as March, when the legislature’s next session begins.
Baumbach insists (https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/02/death-with-dignity/101203748/) his bill concerns “not a life or death decision” but a “death or death decision” because it authorizes doctors to administer lethal drugs only to patients who have “an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within 6 months.”
Critics have pointed out one major loophole in this definition: What about someone, such as a diabetic, whose illness is “incurable and irreversible” but nevertheless treatable? If the patient were not treated, his illness could kill him within six months. Would he therefore qualify as having a terminal disease under the bill’s terms?
If the legislation only went this far, it would be bad enough. But an amendment (http://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=26262) Baumbach proposed recently makes it even worse by enabling physicians to kill intellectually disabled patients with supposedly terminal illnesses.
The bill defines “intellectual disability” as “a disability, that originated before the age of 18, characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills.” And it authorizes a doctor to terminate that person’s life if “a licensed clinical social worker” certifies that the patient understands what assisted suicide entails.
This is truly alarming. As National Review’s Wesley Smith (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/455665/delaware-push-intellectually-disabled-assisted-suicide) observed, “These are people who can’t legally enter contracts! They can’t control where they live! They can’t make their own medical decisions! They also can’t vote, pursuant to the Delaware Constitution! … Yet, if they have a terminal illness, they are going to be able to commit assisted suicide if a social worker — who may be ideologically predisposed in favor — confirms that they ‘understand’ that they are receiving a poison prescription?”
“It doesn’t even require approval of a guardian, as would corrective surgery or treatment to cure or palliate,” he added.
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/28173-delaware-considers-legalizing-assisted-suicide-including-for-intellectually-disabled-patients