(WND)—Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have written to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking for the federal government to monitor programs that kill people through “assisted suicide.”
The concerns they have include that such programs be “free of coercion and discrimination.”
Worries about “coercion” in assisted suicide programs have been around since those programs were launched, with legitimate fears that those with decision-making responsibilities, or just those with influence over the elderly, may get out of line.
They warned that such procedures raise “significant informed consent issues as well as concerns about disability and age discrimination.”
The letter is from Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., and was outlined in a report at Lifenews.
The senators want reporting requirements, monitoring of the programs, and more.
“Every person has inherent worth and dignity, including those facing their final days,” Lankford explained. “Hospice should be a place of compassion, comfort, and care, where the suffering are surrounded by loved ones and quality health care, not a place where they feel quietly pressured to end their lives through assisted suicide.
“Federal law is clear that taxpayer dollars cannot pay for assisted suicide, and discrimination against the aged and disabled is prohibited. HHS and CMS have a responsibility to make sure vulnerable people are protected. We’re simply asking them to do that job.”
Joining the senators in the letter were Reps. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., and Lou Correa, D-Calif.
“As a practicing physician of 35 years, I have dedicated my career to saving lives and comforting my patients,” explained Murphy. “The oath all physicians take is ‘to do no harm’. Physicians who take part in assisting suicide are breaking that oath. It is a great tragedy that people feel that life offers them no recourse other than to end their lives.
“Rather than suicide we should invest more in palliative care and hospice which are much more acceptable forms of medical care. Sadly abuses, such as the lack of informed consent and discriminatory practices, have occurred and patients and their families have been wronged.”
Congress since 1997 has banned the use of federal money for any assisted suicide program.
The need for monitoring is evident, as disability rights groups have filed lawsuits in California, Colorado, New York, Delaware and Illinois charging that laws regarding physician-aided suicide discriminate unconstitutionally against those with life-threatening disabilities.
A wide range of organizations opposes such “treatments,” including the World Medical Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, National Council on Independent Living, United Spinal Association, Not Dead Yet, Access Living, Patients’ Rights Action Fund, and Aging With Dignity.
