In the News
Black Disabled Man Dies From COVID-19 After Texas Hospital Refused to Treat Him
A Black disabled man died from COVID-19 in Austin, Texas, after doctors declined to provide hydration, nutrition and treatment based on a “quality of life” decision. Disability advocates highlighted that the discriminatory attitudes behind these “quality of life” decisions are rampant — and dangerous. Michael Hickson, who was married and had five children, was hospitalized
Quadriplegic man’s death from covid-19 spotlights questions of disability, race and family
It is tragic when patients are denied the treatment they need and deserve based on a subjective judgment about the quality of their life. Subjective, qualitative medical judgements can be harmful and even deadly. Too often we are seeing medical professionals substitute these subjective quality of life judgments for authentic treatment, especially as they navigate
Did Covid-19 open the door to euthanasia in Sweden?
Disturbing figures are coming from Sweden about the number of Covid-19 deaths amongst the elderly. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, half of the people who died in Sweden were residents of nursing homes… The health authorities have received many complaints about how elderly relatives were treated. A consistent theme is
The case against assisted suicide
The Massachusetts Joint Public Health Committee recently reported out of committee the controversial bill (S.2745) that would legalize assisted suicide. This puts bill S.2745 one step closer to a vote. Some residents have asked: Other states have passed it, why not us? It is important to note that, compared to the states that have
Kafka’s death bill advances
After at least five legislative sessions without advancing beyond the committee stage, bills that would open the door to doctors prescribing lethal doses for terminally ill patients got favorable reports from the Committee on Public Health… The bills (H 1926/S 1208) that would legalize medical aid in dying – sometimes referred to as doctor-assisted suicide
In opposition to physician assisted suicide
Recently the Joint Committee on Public Health approved a Physician Assisted Suicide bill (HB 1926 and SB 1208). If it reaches final approval, state sanctioned suicide will be the law of the land in Massachusetts. This is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer. The American Medical Association has strongly rejected it. Physicians
Second Thoughts Press Release On Continuing Danger of Massachusetts Assisted Suicide Bill
Second Thoughts Massachusetts issues the following statement in opposition to the favorable report given by the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health to Bill S.1208/H.1926, legislation that would legalize assisted suicide in Massachusetts. John Kelly “I’m amazed and disappointed that as a deadly virus is stalking and killing older, ill, and disabled people, and
Ask Massachusetts’ lawmakers to reject assisted suicide (H.1926 and S.1208)!
“It is unthinkable at the outset of our tenuous Covid reopening that the MA public health committee would devote time to regressive, discriminatory assisted suicide legislation, which is fatally flawed and ripe for abuse, coercion, and mistakes. When care is expensive and suicide is cheap, what message are we sending to our elders, the
Matt Vallière of the Patients Rights Action Fund, suicide by physician, and better choices
One person dies of suicide every eleven minutes in our country. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Americans between 10 and 34 years of age. The fight against suicide is in many ways, the rallying cry of the next generation. While the broad consensus to fight suicide across society has been extolled
Oklahoma bans healthcare reimbursements based on age, ability
An elderly or disabled person will not be billed extra or be blocked from receiving health care because of high costs in Oklahoma, after passage of anti-discrimination legislation. On Friday, Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, approved the “Nondiscrimination in Health Care Coverage” Act, which would prevent a state agency from using age, chronic illness,
Majority of Americans Don’t Know Healthcare Rationing Takes Place in Their Own Backyard
Arguments in support of assisted suicide often focus on patient choice. Proponents argue that no one has to commit assisted suicide if they do not want to, and its legalization only expands patient choice. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that assisted suicide impacts everyone’s health care choices because it creates perverse incentives for profit driven
Matt Vallière on Assisted Suicide & Impacts of COVID-19 on Patients’ Rights
In today’s episode, we discuss assisted suicide and how the COVID-19 pandemic is shedding new light on the way patients are treated. We speak with Matt Vallière the Executive Director of the Patients’ Rights Action Fund whose mission is to protect patients’ civil rights and oppose efforts to make suicide a legal medical treatment
Pandemic’s painful truth; we don’t value elders
Legalizing assisted suicide in a society with unequal access to affordable health care, let alone end of life care, creates an unintended and unspoken pressure on terminally ill patients, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities to not to be a burden that constrains freedom of choice rather than expanding it. This is especially dangerous in
Ventilator: A matter of life or death
As the COVID-19 pandemic hurdles us to the breaking point of our medical system in various hot spots across the country, we are being forced to face our faults and our fears in the raw. We are at a critical point in history, and how we care for vulnerable patients will be judged by generations
Conceiving the unconceivable: ethical and clinical concerns over assisted suicide for people with mental disorders
Assisted suicide laws abandon vulnerable people and remove society’s care at a time when it’s needed most. Legalizing assisted suicide perpetuates the idea that some lives are not worth living and where do you logically draw the line? But we need look no further than America to see how these laws abandon vulnerable patients because
Assisted suicide laws a danger to disabled
The letter “Aid-in-dying empowers patients to make decision,” April 11, argues the availability of assisted suicide is empowering; however, assisted suicide devalues the lives of individuals with disabilities and diminishes patient choice by creating perverse incentives for insurance companies to offer a cheap death over costly treatment. The author claimed data from Oregon show
The pandemic has amplified ageism. ‘It’s open season for discrimination’ against older adults.
In the current ageist climate, legalizing assisted suicide is downright dangerous for the elderly. What is urgently needed is a concerted effort to terminate elder abuse and to work towards a more inclusive, more caring and less ageist society. “…As the debate rages over when or how to resume public life, older adults like Reed
Allocating Ventilators in Times of Crisis: A Brave New World
Opponents warn that assisted suicide laws are inherently discriminatory because they carve out a group in society whose lives are deemed “not worth living.” Consequently, instead of receiving society’s protection and suicide prevention services, these individuals are provided suicide assistance. This is especially dangerous given our broken profit-driven healthcare system where individuals with disabilities, the
Thank You for Supporting PRAF on #GivingTuesdayNow
Thank you so much for your overwhelming support! #GivingTuesdayNOW has been a wonderful day of unity and generosity. We remain committed to patients and families NOW and always! Matt Vallière, Executive Director
Double Your Gift Today on #GivingTuesdayNow
Double your Gift today! Join us today and Give $5! Click here to see how Patients Right Action Fund is calling for the protection of all patients. For the price of a latte you can support the fight to protect all patients during this pandemic and into the future! Click here to donate today!