Beware of Vultures: Senator Jennifer Fielder on Compassion & Choices

"I found myself wondering, 'Where does all the lobby money come from?' If it really is about a few terminally ill people who might seek help ending their suffering, why was more money spent on promoting assisted suicide than any other issue in Montana?"

By Senator Jennifer Fielder

As we wrangled through the budget this spring, the beautiful state capitol began to feel like a big, ripe carcass with a dark cloud of vultures circling about.  

Senator Jennifer Fielder

The magnitude of money in government attracts far more folks who want to be on the receiving end than it does those who just want fair and functional government. Until that ratio improves, it may be impossible to rein in unnecessary regulation and spending. 

Special interest groups spent over $6 million dollars on lobbyists to pressure Montana legislators during the 2013 session. Seems like a lot of money, until you compare it to the billions of taxpayer dollars at stake. Does the average taxpayer stand a chance against organized forces like that?

Compassion & Choices' Mission is to Promote Suicide

Hemlock 

The push to enact Prop. 106 is being spearheaded by the suicide advocacy group, Compassion & Choices.

Compassion & Choices was formed in 2004 as the result of a merger/takeover of two other organizations.[1] One of these organizations was the former Hemlock Society, originally formed by Derek Humphry.[2]

Even Law Enforcement is Denied Access to Information

In Oregon, even law enforcement is denied access to information about cases under Oregon’s law. Alicia Parkman, Mortality Specialist for the Oregon Health Authority, states:

We have been contacted by law enforcement and legal representatives in the past, but have not provided identifying information of any type.  (Emphasis added).[1]

Oregon attorney Isaac Jackson provides a similar account:

The [police] officer’s report . . . describe[d] that he was unable to get . . . information from the Oregon Health Authority . . . . [2]

Oregon’s Data Cannot be Verified

The State of Oregon (the Oregon Health Authority) publishes annual statistical reports about the people who died under Oregon’s law.  Much of this data cannot be verified due to a lack of record keeping and the destruction of source documentation. According to the Oregon Health Authority:

The identity of participating physicians is coded, but the identity of individual patients is not recorded in any manner.  Approximately one year from the publication of the Annual Report, all source documentation is destroyed.  (Emphasis added).[1]

Any Studies Claiming That Oregon's Law is Safe, are Invalid

Jeff Essmann

During a Montana legislative hearing in 2011, State Senator Jeff Essmann made the following observation about Oregon’s law, that any study claiming that it’s safe is invalid.  He observed:

[All] the protections end after the prescription is written.  [The proponents] admitted that the provisions in the Oregon law would permit one person to be alone in that room with the patient.  And in that situation, there is no guarantee that that medication is [taken on a voluntary basis].

Cat shrunk the initative

Prop. 106 (formally I-145) is an eleven page document issued by the State of Colorado.  See here for an offical copy.  The proponents, however feature a much smaller harder to read font version on their website, which is two pages shorter (9 pages long).  The proponents don't want the voters to see what it really says.

Physician-Assisted Suicide Traumatic for Family Members

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

In 2012, a European research study addressed trauma suffered by persons who witnessed legal assisted suicide in Switzerland.[1] The study found that one out of five family members or friends present at an assisted suicide was traumatized. These people,

experienced full or sub-threshold PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) related to the loss of a close person through assisted suicide.[2]