Dear Virginians:
A big thank you for all who donated for our successful fundraising campaign. Thank you one and all for your generosity as we raised $50,000.
A big thank you to all who participated in our 2024 Summit, Take Control of Your Family’s Health. Thank you to the entire VAMFA team.
A few words of feedback from the summit.
“I was so glad to be able to attend your very informative VAMFA conference yesterday. I truly learned a lot.”
“…this summit offered so much and feel privileged to be a part of this event…”
“I’m looking forward to being able to watch a recording for morning sessions I missed, and re-watching the afternoon and evening. So dense with information! I’m grateful to all of the presenters.”
NOW, ONWARD TO THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING(MAID) EUTHANASIA!!!
Please note this information is up-to-date at the moment published. It is subject to changes beyond my control.
SB 280 will Legalize Assisted Suicide. SB280 will be heard in the Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Health on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 4 pm. It is also very likely that the House bill (HB 858) will be heard in the House early next week. If you can attend and speak at Tuesday afternoon's Senate subcommittee hearing, your voice needs to be heard.
Contact your legislators as soon as possible. Please use this link provided by Virginia Catholic Conference, No Suicide VA to contact your legislators and oppose this bill.
https://vacatholic.org/action-center/?vvsrc=/Campaigns/110256/Respond
3. Visiting as many members of the key committees as possible: Senate Education and Health and House Human Services Committees.
Meeting times for the committees and subcommittees are listed below.
SB 280 (Hashmi) to be heard in Senate Ed and Health Subcommittee on Health
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 4 pm:
Members: Favola (Chair), Suetterlein, Bagby, Aird, Durant
Clerk: Hobie Lehman, Madison Odallo Staff: Julia Carlton
Date of Meeting: January 23, 2024
Time and Place: 4 PM / Senate Subcommittee Room, 3rd Floor, General Assembly Bld.
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3
If the bill were to pass in the subcommittee, it would then go to the full Committee:
Senate Ed and Health that meets on Thursdays at 8 am.
Thursday, 8:00 a.m., Senate Room A, General Assembly Building
House Bill: VCC Executive Director Jeff Caruso noticed that the House Assisted Suicide Bill HB 858 (Del. Hope), was referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee. Stay tuned for more information on House Bill.
HB 858 (Del. Hope)
Health care; decision-making, end of life, penalties.
Meeting Time: Immediately upon adjournment of full committee
Meeting Day: Tuesday
Meeting Location: House Committee Room C - 206
Then: House Health and Human Services Committee (HHS)
Meeting Time: 8:30 a.m. January 23, 2024
Meeting Day: Tuesday and Thursday
Meeting Location: House Committee Room C - 206
Talking points for Senators and Delegates;
Talking Points
Insurer control: Insurers can deny even life-saving prescribed treatments. In a perverted twist, legalized suicide can be termed as a "medical treatment" or "benefit" that will always be "cost-effective."
No Mandated Treatment : most MAID laws do not require treatment for serious medical conditions, even when it is available to the patient. For example, a patient whose metastatic cancer stands a reasonably good chance of remission with aggressive treatment, but who nevertheless chooses MAID, is not required by state laws to undergo the treatment. Similarly, a psychiatric evaluation is not required unless the MAID-initiating doctor specifically requests such an assessment.
Persuasion and abuse: From family members to medical professionals, persuading the disabled or terminally ill to end their life is immoral and for doctors, would ordinarily be considered in opposition to the Hippocratic Oath. This can very inhumanely cross over into abuse. https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2015/02/physician-assisted_suicide_a_f.html http://hawaiifreepress.com/Articles-Daily-News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3647/February-2011-Letters-to-the-Editor Suffolk Superior Court Judge Mary K. Ames issued a 2019 ruling against a state constitutional right to die, in which she stated, “In such a situation, there is a greater risk that temporary anger, depression, a misunderstanding of one’s prognosis, ignorance of alternatives, financial considerations, strain on family members or significant others, or improper persuasion may impact the decision.”
Misdiagnosis: studies show that 12% - 15% of people going to hospice with a terminal diagnosis outlive their prognosis, thus a large number of people died by suicide when they were not on the verge of dying. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4118712/
Distress, not pain: existential distress/ quality of life are the more common complaints and very infrequently, is physical pain the issue. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms1700606 However, legal palliative care/sedation addresses the pain and any reference to "pain" in a bill is a red herring.
Medical Prejudice: according to 82.4% of U.S. physicians, disabled persons have a poorer quality of life than the non-disabled. This reflects a potentially biased view among doctors manifesting in health care disparities disadvantaging the disabled. https://opmed.doximity.com/articles/his-dnr-status-was-wrong-he-died-because-of-it?_csrf_attempted=yes
Racial disparities: (for those who say they are fighting for social justice) racial disparities in diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, cancer, heart issues tend to result from medical prejudice and neglect. Any assisted suicide legislation could result in more minorities being regarded as "better off dead." https://www.npr.org/2020/07/31/896882268/one-mans-covid-19-death-raises-the-worst-fears-of-many-people-with-disabilities?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
Depression: Dangerously, these assisted suicide laws amount to a denial of suicide prevention services to the seriously ill and disabled, violating the ADA's guarantee of equal program access. Instead of treating depression and feeling like a burden as impairments or worthy of intervention, they are redefined as rational.
Disability: distress and shame are emphasized as the hallmarks of disability; yet, human connection and meaningfulness can be found in mutual aid and interdependence. Further, dying because of distress and shame does not elevate the act of dying or the state of death to dignified or noble.
2017 NY Court of Appeals held that “suicide has long been understood as “the act or instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally’… Aid-in-dying falls squarely within the ordinary meaning of the statutory prohibition on assisting a suicide. https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/2017/77.html
Increased suicide rates: if we’re calling Medical Assisted Death what it really is, physician-assisted suicide, preliminary reports suggest more suicides in the general population of states that have Physician-assisted Suicide. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26437189/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31397854/
Please call your Senators and Delegates today and please strongly consider attending sessions this week to stop this legislation. The pro-suicide/euthanasia group Compassionate Care out numbered us last year 10 to 1. These are senior citizens who are lead down a road by telling them, it is in their best interest not to be a “burden” to their families, translated, “Hurry up and die.”
Links to all members of House and Senate Below.
https://apps.senate.virginia.gov/Senator/index.php
https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php
More information will be forth coming.
Sheila M. Furey, MD