The Aug. 1 law permitting terminally ill patients to end their lives was briefly put on hold during a legal skirmish in a suit brought by Yosef Glassman, a Bergen County physician. Dr. Glassman’s suit raises moral questions about how the public may be ensnared in participating in a new bureaucracy of death in New Jersey…
Dr. Glassman raises concerns that are worth considering by New Jersey residents. That’s because the Aid in Dying law makes it impossible for those not wishing to participate to opt out. For example, whether Dr. Glassman provides a copy of his records, or just answers a phone call from another doctor inquiring about a patient’s condition, he could easily be drawn — perhaps unknowingly — into the process of causing death. So could we all.
The Aid in Dying law creates a society in which doctors and other citizens are forced to become complicit in the death process without even realizing it. The statute contains complicated processes such as obtaining medical opinions, determining a patient’s “capability,” informing next of kin, getting necessary requests for death from the patient, finding a witness who is not an heir, and so on. These steps and the suicide itself will involve many people who will be involved directly or peripherally in bringing about the stated goal: the suicide of a fellow citizen. This includes doctors, nurses, hospital staff, pharmacists, psychologists, family members, lawyers, government bureaucrats, office workers, letter carriers, even Uber drivers who will ferry some of these folks about.
It is corrosive for civil society to involve so many citizens in bringing death to our sickest brethren. This is especially true because some who become involved will be in support positions with no choice but to participate, and others will participate without even realizing it.
Read more at NJ.com…