The Autism Action Network believes that the trends around the world in countries and states that allow physician-assisted suicide makes A136/S138 a great threat to disabled people, especially people impacted by severe developmental disabilities. The threat to disabled people would increase with age as they become less healthy, supporting them becomes more expensive, and family members with a vested interest in their loved ones’ survival age and die. "Autism" is already allowed as a pretext for physician-assisted suicide ion Canada and other countries.
The bill's sponsors are both personally very wealthy and represent very wealthy districts. Paulin represents Scarsdale and Hoylman represents the Westside of Manhattan. They can afford first-rate healthcare. They have the means to protect themselves from abuse. But what about non-speaking people with autism on Medicaid? Especially those with no relatives actively involved in their lives?
This law would be the first, and most important step, to allow institutions to kill inconvenient people.
TAKE ACTION
Please use the panel to the right to send messages to your State Senator stating your opposition to S138.
Please call your State Senator TODAY and ask him or her to oppose S138.
You can look up their contact information at the links below:
https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator
Call the offices of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins and let her know that you do not want S138 to pass
Albany Offices
188 State Street, Room 907, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2585
Fax: (518) 426-6811
172 State Street, Capitol Building, Room 330
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2715
Fax: (518) 426-6844
District Office
28 Wells Avenue, Building #35th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701
Phone: (914) 423-4031
Fax: (914) 423-0979
New York City Office
250 Broadway, Room 1930
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 298-5585
Fax: (212) 298-5623
https://www.facebook.com/andrea.stewartcousins
X/Twitter: @AndreaSCousins
Also Call the #2 in the Senate Deputy Majority Leader Senator Michael Gianaris and let him know you do not want S138 to pass
Capitol Building, Room 427
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-3486
Fax: (518) 426-6929
District Office
22-07 45th Street, Suite 1008
Astoria, NY 11105
Phone: (718) 728-0960
Fax: (718) 728-0963
TALKING POINTS
Do we really want to permit doctors to assist in killing patients?
Do we as a society want to dispense with the Hippocratic oath requirement that doctors, “First, do no harm?” Do we want to remove the barrier preventing physicians from deliberately assisting or causing the death of patients?
This has happened before, and it did not end well. The Nazis' first extermination campaign began with doctors and nurses “mercy killing” developmentally disabled children in a program called Aktion T4. Aktion T4 was expanded to include adults with developmental disabilities, and adults and children with physical disabilities. Eventually, 300,000 were killed. This doctor-led program worked out the techniques of mass murder later used at the death camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor.
For once, we actually agree with the American Medical Association who oppose A136/S138, stating in their Code of Medical Ethics, “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life.”
This is the beginning of a slide down a slippery slope
Paulin and Hoylman are “progressives.” Progressives wisely understand that you get further over time with multiple little steps to change law and policy rather than trying to make one huge leap. We have seen this strategy used in many policy areas. Progressives are masters at continually moving the goal posts until they end up where they want to be.
“Autism” is sufficient for assisted suicide in Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands
Other countries that allow physician-assisted suicide, such as Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands, have continually lowered the ages of those who can be killed, and broadened the range of disorders that can trigger assisted suicide.
- The Netherlands allows suicides for non-fatal conditions, including autism and psychiatric disorders.
- Canada is scheduled to begin allowing physician-assisted suicide for psychiatric disorders and non-lethal disorders in 2027.
- Canadian Veterans were offered assisted suicide in lieu of services.
Children are allowed to be killed in Belgium and the Netherlands
Both the Netherlands and Belgium, early adopters of legalized medical killing of patients have gradually broadened their laws so that now children are allowed to be killed. In Belgium, minors of any age are allowed to request physician-assisted suicide. Initially, only minors older than 14 were allowed to be killed, but the age limit was lifted in 2014. Similarly, in the Netherlands, initially only minors 12 and older were allowed to be killed, but the age limit was repealed in 2023 to include children of all ages.
There is no right for employees to refuse to participate
The bill does not provide clear, unambiguous language that healthcare employees have the right to refuse to participate in a suicide and retain their jobs and be shielded from retaliation. The bill says employees may not be required by “contract” to participate in assisted killings but that is not the same thing as having an explicit right not to participate.
Protection for Religious Healthcare Providers is flimsy and conditional
The bill does not provide clear, unambiguous language that healthcare organizations have religious or moral values that preclude killing patients will be able to the right to refuse to participate. The bill says that organizations with “formally adopted policy of the facility that is expressly based on sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions centralto the facility's operating principles;” may refuse to participate in killing patients. But who determines if the beliefs or convictions are “sincerely held,” or “moral” or “central,” and what criteria are used to make that determination? Hundreds of thousands of people in New York have been denied various rights because government institutions have either declared that their religious beliefs were not “sincere” or simply disregarded those rights based on religious exemptions. New York has a long history of completely disregarding the religious rights of both people and institutions. There is no reason to believe that will not apply to implementing this policy.
How accurate are physicians’ predictions of expected life?
People with “terminal” diseases often live far longer than originally estimated. People unexpectedly recover. Physicians do not have crystal balls.
Legalizing assisted suicide sends the message that suicide is acceptable.
New York State rightly spends millions of dollars each year on preventing suicide. It makes no sense to recognize suicide as a statewide public health concern while simultaneously promoting it as “Death with Dignity” for certain populations.
Assisted suicide creates financial incentives to limit care
Assisted suicide is far less expensive than palliative and supportive care at the end of life. In Oregon, some patients noted that lethal doses of drugs were covered by their insurers while cancer treatments were not. While advocates call assisted suicide a matter of free choice, what kind of choice is it when life is expensive, but death is free?
Assisted suicide discriminates against people with disabilities.
Persons with serious chronic or terminal illnesses often become disabled as their diseases progress. Health professionals and others may incorrectly perceive that those patients have a lower “quality of life” than healthier people do. While the rest of society receives suicide prevention education and services from the state, this bill would direct suicide assistance towards certain disabled individuals. This double standard is a form of discrimination against people with disabilities.
Significant pain is not required in A136/S138
Some states and countries that allow physician-assisted killing also require that a prospective suicide candidate must also suffer from significant pain that cannot be relieved with palliative care, but physical pain is not a requirement under A136/S138.
Suicide as a choice is a coercive form of pressure
Assisted suicide poses a threat to those living with disabilities or who are in vulnerable circumstances. When assisted suicide becomes an option, pressure can be placed on these individuals to take that option. People can feel obligated to choose suicide to avoid being a “burden” which will disproportionately fall on those with fewer resources.
Assisted suicide requires lying on death certificates
The proposal would require doctors to lie on patients’ death certificates by falsely stating that a patient’s death was caused by his or her terminal illness, not by the ingestion of lethal drugs. Therefore, no accurate reporting to state officials would be possible.
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