Montana: Missoula lawmaker drafting physician-assisted suicide bill

Description: [of the article from the Missoulian]

A Missoula legislator is having a bill drafted to implement a 2009 Montana Supreme Court decision to allow physician-assisted suicide when a terminally ill patient requests it. Democratic Rep. Dick Barrett, who is unopposed for re-election, said he will introduce the bill in the 2011 Legislature, which convenes in January. He asked legislative staff members to draft the bill.

In its ruling, the state Supreme Court found there is no public policy opposing physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill and held that such a policy would be "incongruous" with existing Montana policies that address other rights of the terminally ill, Barrett said.

"My sense is that terminally ill Montanans really do want to have this choice available to them, not that large numbers of people take advantage of it," Barrett said Thursday. "I think the Supreme Court said it would be consistent with the rights of the terminally ill that Montanans currently give in the statutes. Terminally ill Montanans and most Americans have the right to hasten their deaths by refusing treatment, food and water."

Later, Senator Glen Hinckle, who has his own bill banning physician-assisted suicide, said his bill is needed "basically to prevent elder abuse", while Barrett countered that "the evidence from Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide has been available since 1998, shows that this concern is unfounded."

[There is information in the Notes section below.]
[There are other related stories in the Links section below.]
[There are stories in the Overflow section below.]

Links:

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)

  • http://tinyurl.com/2uhxpwz

  • http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_78469b06-8b01-11df-8030-001cc4c002e0.html

    Also see:

  • Montana: Legislature will consider two assisted suicide bills in 2011 [Q2 KTVQ]
    http://www.ktvq.com/news/legislature-will-consider-two-assisted-suicide-bills-in-2011

    An excerpt: Barrett says the court found no public policy in Montana opposing physician-assisted suicide. Meanwhile, the Montana Family Foundation says the ruling did not legalize physician assisted suicide…and says assisted suicide is still a crime under Montana state law.

    Barrett says he watched his parents suffer from terminal illnesses….He hopes this bill will give people some control over what happens at the end. "There are some people, not many, but there are some for whom this is the best choice," Barrett said. "This is the choice they want."

  • Montana: It's time to protect life, death [The Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
    http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/article_f2aab066-8611-11df-b9b4-001cc4c002e0.html

    Mary Vant Hull, 82, lives in Bozeman and is a member of Compassion and Choices in Montana. Vant Hull writes to support physician aid in dying in Montana. Excerpts from the conclusion of her column:

    It's time to stop listening to people who have a profit motive in advocating we must keep existing when our life is really over, even when we vehemently wish for the end. It's time to stop listening to those whose own religious views say that all the rest of us must suffer even when we and our loved ones are too tormented at the end of life.

    It's time to stop calling end-of-life decisions "assisted suicide," when it is clearly closer to a natural end than to the present artificially rigged life prolongation.

    And it is time for all common-sense Montanans to see that the next Montana Legislature protects our right to privacy as stated in our 1972 Montana Constitution - including our right to privacy between each of us and our physician when we each know our lives must end soon, that it should be assisted, not prolonged.

Source:

Johnson, Charles S. "Missoula lawmaker drafting bill to implement high court's physician-assisted suicide decision". Missoulian. Posted: Thursday, July 8, 2010 8:24 pm. <missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_78469b06-8b01-11df-8030-001cc4c002e0.html>. Missoulian, PO Box 8029, Missoula, MT 59807, U.S.A.

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • assisted suicide

  • legislation

  • Montana

  • U.S.A.

Notes:

  • IN MEMORIAM Adelbert Josephus Jitta [World Federation of Right to Die Societies]
    http://worldrtd.net/node/988

    A further addition to Wednesday's story begins with: July 6, 2010: On June 30, 2010 Adelbert Josephus Jitta passed away. He died at the age of 71 in dignity, making use of the law of which he may be called one of the founding fathers.

    When serving as Chief Prosecutor in the Alkmaar District, he was - professionally and personally - confronted a number of times with the issue of dignity in dying. One morning, cycling from home to his office, he saw two young policemen tidying away the human remains of a man who just committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. This prompted him to contact D66 politician Wessel-Tuinstra who was working on a members initiative to regulate the possibilities for a dignified death. He became a member of her working group and wrote the draft bill that was presented in the Parliament in 1984. This bill to a great extent still forms the basis for the existing Dutch law, that was approved and implemented in 2002.

    The story continues to describe more of Jitta's contribution to the development of euthanasia and the right to die.

  • Canada: Lung cancer diagnosis leads to A Courageous Battle [Simcoe.com]
    http://www.simcoe.com/opinion/columns/article/843809—lung-cancer-diagnosis-leads-to-a-courageous-battle

    This report tells the story behind Susan Bracken's right-to-die novel A Courageous Battle, which was the subject of EuthaNEWSia on Feb. 10, 2010:

    Retirement in Barrie brought challenges Susan Bracken could never have anticipated. When Susan's husband (a lifelong non-smoker) was diagnosed with lung cancer, the couple was shattered. She committed herself to his end-of-life journey and recounts two years of horrific suffering, pain, and helplessness — an end of life that nobody should experience. Her husband was 69 when he died.

    Two months after his death, Susan herself was diagnosed with lung cancer. She embarked on an aggressive treatment program, fear-filled that her end of life journey would be as horrible as her husband's. She decided that she would rather die than experience her husband's journey. She began looking for an assisted death, found the group Dying With Dignity and got a lot of support.

    "Knowing I could control my death gave me strength," she says. "Even though my lung cancer had spread and they said I had a 5-per-cent chance of surviving, I did. I'm cancer free and healthy today."

    Susan Bracken's web site is at http://www.susanbracken.ca/.

Overflow:

Stories that EuthaNEWSia did not get to:

  • Progressing living wills (advance directives): POLST [The EXIT euthanasia blog]
    http://exiteuthanasia.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/progressing-living-wills-advance-directives-polst/

    The item begins with:Living wills have come a long way since they were first proposed by Luis Kutner in 1969. Today they are widespread. On July 28th 2009, Barack Obama became the first United States President to announce publicly that he had a living will. But there are still problems with them, and many studies suggesting that similar treatment/non-treatment decisions would have been taken even in the absence of a living will. But a large scale study just published in America suggests a further level of directive can make some significant differences.

    Researchers studied 1,711 nursing home residents aged 65 and older, looking at treatment preferences and decisions, and quantified the results both with traditional documents and with the addition of a POLST form. A POLST form (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments) is a way of translating patients' wishes about a range of treatments into medical orders that are easily understood by healthcare professionals in a way that can be acted upon immediately. Some people have compared it to a doctor writing a prescription as opposed to the patient describing the sort of medicine they want.

    Residents with POLST forms were more likely to have treatment preferences documented as medical orders than residents with traditional practices (living wills, DNAR forms); and POLST orders restricting medical interventions were associated with the lower use of life-sustaining treatments such as hospitalization, intravenous fluids and antibiotics. There were no differences between residents with and without POLST forms in symptom assessment or management.

    [The Abstract and full text of the study are available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123572530/abstract]

  • Australia: Google welcomes web filter retreat [The Australian]
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/google-welcomes-web-filter-retreat/story-e6frgakx-1225889940061

    Google has welcomed a delay in Stephen Conroy's controversial mandatory web filtering scheme but maintains the plan is still too "broad'' in scope. The federal government plans to force all ISPs to block web pages on a secret refused classification list.

    But earlier today, Communications Minister Mr Conroy said the government would wait until a review of RC requirements is done before executing the filtering plan. The study will take at least 12 months. The opposition immediately branded the delay as a "humiliating backdown'' that had vindicated the Coalition's concerns about the proposal.

  • "You Don't Know Jack" gets 16 Emmy nominations [Detroit Free Press]
    http://www.freep.com/article/20100709/ENT03/7090323/1035/Ent/Jack-gets-16-nods

    "You Don't Know Jack," HBO's biopic on controversial Dr. Jack Kevorkian, earned 16 Emmy nominations Thursday, including outstanding made-for-television movie. Leading the "Jack" pack was Al Pacino, who starred as the eccentric Michigan doctor who became the national symbol for the assisted-suicide movement. He was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a movie or miniseries.

    Most of his supporting cast was too, including John Goodman (Neal Nicol), Susan Sarandon (Hemlock Society activist Janet Good) and Brenda Vaccaro, who played Margo Janus, Kevorkian's older sister. Director Barry Levinson also earned a nod for his work behind the camera.

  • Vancouver: Dr. Death comes to town this fall [Vancouver Courier]
    http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/Death+comes+town+this+fall/2897195/story.html?id=2897195

    People, especially the elderly, need information on assisted suicide, says an Australian doctor, often referred to as Dr. Death. "We're contacted by people from all over the world," physician Philip Nitschke told the Courier Tuesday morning during a phone interview from Melbourne. "And a significant number of those people are from Canada."

    Nitschke, director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International, is speaking in Vancouver Nov. 3 about assisted suicide and dealing with the end of one's life. The workshop includes information on the suicide drug Nembutal, prescription drugs and what's referred to as the "Swiss option," which includes travelling to Switzerland to die at a legal assisted-suicide clinic.

    As part of the event, a public meeting will offer information on the legislative history of assisted suicide and its political status around the world. Workshops are restricted to the terminally ill and people over the age of 50.

  • Idaho: Assisted suicide is dangerous [Idaho Mountain Express]
    http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005132145

    Dr. Kenneth Stevens of Oregon writes to the citizens of Idaho, warning them of a peril of legalizing assisted suicide: health plans will no longer pay for expensive end-of-life treatments, but will pay for suicide. He asserts that there is a direct relationship.

  • Vermont: Dying with dignity [Times Argus Online]
    http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100707/OPINION02/7070305

    Emile Gosselin writes about the indignity his family members have suffered while dying. He begins with:

    For the second time in my life, I have watched a family member leave this earth hooked up to a hospital bed. For those of you who have been in the same situation, you know the feeling. For those of you who have not yet * brace yourself.

    Lying in bed surrounded by pillows, tubes going from here to there and back again, all having a purpose. Nurses on both sides of the bed making your loved one as comfortable as possible * why? Why not just let us die with dignity?

  • Scotland: Top Doc warns of danger posed by end-of-life Bill [The Christian Institute]
    http://www.christian.org.uk/news/top-doc-warns-of-danger-posed-by-end-of-life-bill/

    Dr Rosemary Barrett, Director of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, warned against Margo MacDonald's End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill. Among her assertions:

    Dr Barrett also warned that any relaxation of the nation's laws would only be in the interests of a small minority of Scots. She cautioned: "We must remember that the actions of a few profoundly affect many others.

    "The legalisation of euthanasia would betray our Scottish values by acting in the interest of only a small segment of society." "Passing the Bill would clash with our historic standards of caring for the whole of society, not simply submitting to a vocal and influential few."

  • IN MEMORIAM Adelbert Josephus Jitta [World Federation of Right to Die Societies]
    http://worldrtd.net/node/988

    This item begins with: July 6, 2010: On June 30, 2010 Adelbert Josephus Jitta passed away. He died at the age of 71 in dignity, making use of the law of which he may be called one of the founding fathers.

    When serving as Chief Prosecutor in the Alkmaar District, he was - professionally and personally - confronted a number of times with the issue of dignity in dying. One morning, cycling from home to his office, he saw two young policemen tidying away the human remains of a man who just committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. This prompted him to contact D66 politician Wessel-Tuinstra who was working on a members initiative to regulate the possibilities for a dignified death. He became a member of her working group and wrote the draft bill that was presented in the Parliament in 1984. This bill to a great extent still forms the basis for the existing Dutch law, that was approved and implemented in 2002.

    The story continues to describe more of Jitta's contribution to the development of euthanasia and the right to die.

  • Canada: Lung cancer diagnosis leads to A Courageous Battle [Simcoe.com]
    http://www.simcoe.com/opinion/columns/article/843809—lung-cancer-diagnosis-leads-to-a-courageous-battle

    This story tells the story behind Susan Bracken's right-to-die novel A Courageous Battle, which was the subject of EuthaNEWSia on Feb. 10, 2010:

    Retirement in Barrie brought challenges Susan Bracken could never have anticipated. When Susan's husband (a lifelong non-smoker) was diagnosed with lung cancer, the couple was shattered. She committed herself to his end-of-life journey and recounts two years of horrific suffering, pain, and helplessness — an end of life that nobody should experience. Her husband was 69 when he died.

    Two months after his death, Susan herself was diagnosed with lung cancer. She embarked on an aggressive treatment program, fear-filled that her end of life journey would be as horrible as her husband's. She decided that she would rather die than experience her husband's journey. She began looking for an assisted death, found the group Dying With Dignity and got a lot of support.

    "Knowing I could control my death gave me strength," she says. "Even though my lung cancer had spread and they said I had a 5-per-cent chance of surviving, I did. I'm cancer free and healthy today."

    Susan Bracken's web site is at http://www.susanbracken.ca/.

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201007095160.
Mailed: Friday, July 9, 2010 13:48:57 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>. 

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