GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: BioEdge: Assisted suicide could be legalised in Maine

domingo, 9 de junio de 2019

BioEdge: Assisted suicide could be legalised in Maine

BioEdge: Assisted suicide could be legalised in Maine

Bioedge

Assisted suicide could be legalised in Maine

by Michael Cook | 9 Jun 2019 |

^{The Maine State House, in Augusta}

The state of Maine could be the next US jurisdiction to legalise assisted suicide. A bill modelled on Oregon’s law passed the Democratic-led state Senate 19-16 earlier this week, after passing in the House of Reprensatives by a whisker – 73-72.

The bill is sitting on the desk of Democratic Governor Janet Mills, who has 10 days to act on it.

She says that she is "not really sure" whether she should ratify the bill or veto it. “I'm listening to both sides of the issue to find out pluses and minuses,” she says. “It's a tough issue for me. It's a tough issue for every single legislator—every one of the 186 people who just voted on that in the Senate and the House”.

If the governor signs the bill, Maine will become the second state this year to legalise assisted suicide. New Jersey passed its bill in April. It is also permitted in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Vermont, Montana, and Washington DC.

Foes of assisted dying must be hoping that the old saw about national politics does not hold true: As Maine goes, so goes the nation.

Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge

The news of a 17-year-old Dutch girl suffering from anorexia nervosa who died of 'euthanasia" flew around the world this week. It was an error. The Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) clarified what happened: "She decided to stop eating and drinking to bring her own death. In The Netherlands, this is not considered euthanasia or physician assisted suicide." The media issued corrections and moved on.

I'm curious to know more about this sad story. In her autobiography, Noa said that she had been raped and that this had provoked a psychological crisis. Sadly, this could easily have been true. No one queried the truth of her story, possibly because sexual abuse is known to trigger anorexia. But without that back story, would the world have been so sympathetic to her decision to starve herself to death?

The KNMG says that stopping eating and drinking under medical supervision is not physician-assisted suicide. Really? She committed suicide and she was assisted by physicians. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." If Noa's death wasn't physician assisted suicide, then I'm a Dutchman.

Isn't the real news here something altogether different? Dutch doctors who were unable or unwilling to treat a 17-year-old rape victim for anorexia nervosa gave up on her and allowed her to kill herself. In her time of greatest need, they abandoned their patient.