March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Legislators note dangers, flaws in assisted-suicide referendum

AUGUSTA – More than a dozen Maine lawmakers Thursday labeled a referendum proposal to allow doctor-assisted suicides as flawed and dangerous, and urged voters to reject it on Nov. 7.

Sen. Marge Kilkelly, D-Wiscasset, said the 11-page bill lacks critical provisions, such as family notification if someone decides to commit suicide and no physician support at the time a fatal prescription is taken.

Rep. William Schneider, also speaking at a news conference in the State House, said the measure heightens a danger that elderly and disabled people will choose suicide if they fear they will burden their families.

Schneider, R-Durham, said suicide is wrong and the state has no business condoning it.

Also speaking against the bill was Rep. Thomas Shields, R-Auburn, a retired orthopedic surgeon, who fears the proposal would open the door to state-sanctioned euthanasia.

The Legislature has rejected similar bills during the past several years, and earlier this year rejected the citizen-initiated measure, sending it directly to voters.

Supporters of the referendum say the bill has all the safeguards needed and that it gives terminally ill patients control at the end of their lives. It is modeled after a law on the books in Oregon.

Kate Roberts, a spokeswoman for Mainers for Death With Dignity, said Maine legislators who support the proposal “know that the Oregon law has worked very well” and that the fears of opponents have not materialized.

Roberts said 17 people in Oregon committed suicide under the law’s provisions during its first year, and 27 in its second year.

Roberts also acknowledged that the Maine proposal does not include a family notification requirement, but encourages patients to tell their relatives of their plans.

“The whole law is patient-centered and patient-driven,” Roberts said.


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