Buoyed by last week's resounding defeat of an assisted suicide bill in Vermont, opponents of AB 374 --- the "California Compassionate Choices Act" --- are stepping up state-wide campaign efforts against the measure proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.
Members of Californians Against Assisted Suicide, a diverse coalition that includes medical professionals, disability rights groups, pro-life advocates and religious leaders, are actively lobbying legislators to reject AB 374.
Though the bill passed its first hearing March 27 in the Assembly Judiciary Committee along party lines (all seven Democrats voted in favor and all three Republicans voted against), coalition leaders are optimistic that AB 374 won't breeze through its next assigned hearing, as yet unscheduled, in the Public Safety Committee.
CAAS representatives have already begun contacting Public Safety Committee members "who may be more open to listening to our public policy arguments against AB 374," said Carol Hogan, communications director for the California Catholic Conference. She noted Vermont's assisted suicide bill, H-44, failed 82-63 on the New England state's House Floor after passing both the House Human Service Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.
On March 21, the same day the Vermont House voted down its assisted suicide initiative, rallies and informational picket lines held in Sacramento and Los Angeles drew more than 250 participants protesting AB 374.
"Assisted Suicide is a frightening proposition, especially when needy, impoverished, and working people with serious illnesses do not even have access to affordable treatments," stated Western Service Workers organizer Bill Jennett at the Sacramento rally. "When HMO groups and Medi-Cal cuts continue to reduce the number of treatment options available to patients, a fifty dollar lethal prescription is a cheap alternative to offer seriously ill or dying patients."
At the Los Angeles rally attended by a crowd of 70 people, CAAS member Bob Cielnicky of Fountain Valley argued against AB 374. "We're seeing an attempt to make a dramatic public policy change by relatively few people in government," said Cielnicky. "It's a very dangerous proposal that jeopardizes the medical community [and] people who do not have adequate insurance who would be considered unprofitable patients if this were legalized."
"Despite attempts at safeguards, there is no way to prevent an individual with inadequate health coverage from being pressured and coerced to choose physician assisted death," said MS patient and California Disability Alliance member, Molly Israel, RN.
"As a hospice nurse, I believe giving a patient the best comfort, palliative care and pain management is giving the patient true death with dignity," Israel added. "No matter what you call it, suicide, either through a bottle of pills or from pulling a trigger, is never death with dignity."
Rabbi Louis Feldman, medical ethicist and certified Jewish chaplain, said the victims of physician-assisted suicide will be "the poor, the disabled, the ill-insured, vulnerable and lonely people. … We must remember that the road to Auschwitz was paved with a euthanasia program. Once you negate the inviolability of human life, anything is possible," said Rabbi Feldman.
Following the speeches, participants walked a few blocks to form a picket line in front of the downtown office of Speaker Fabian Nuñez, who decided a few months ago to join Assemblymembers Lloyd Levine and Patty Berg as a principal co-author of AB 374. The three co-authors announced March 21 that California Association of Physicians Groups (CAPG), an organization representing HMOs, is in support of AB 374.
"This endorsement truly clarifies the complete implications of assisted suicide legalization," said Marilyn Golden, policy analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in a written statement March 22 released by the California Disability Alliance.
"We intend to increase our fight against assisted suicide and mount an aggressive protest and information blitz against every member of California Association of Physicians Groups," Golden continued. "The public must know what this would do to the most vulnerable of our society --- a quick hundred dollar lethal prescription is vastly cheaper than offering long term care.
"Disability rights organizations have long said that assisted suicide would bring a low-cost alternative to providing quality medical care for people with chronic or terminal disease or disability. Fortunately, this argument was acknowledged by numerous progressive legislators and has led to the defeat of assisted suicide in 2005 and 2006."
Assisted suicide legalization attempts in California have a history of failure, dating back to 1992's Proposition 161 that was defeated by voters 54 percent to 46 percent. A 1999 bill passed Assembly committees but was never brought to the Floor because of a dearth of votes.
The 2005 "Compassionate Choices Act" passed Assembly committees but, due to lack of support for AB 654, the author executed a "gut and amend": replaced the text of a bill, AB 651 --- which had already passed the Assembly --- with the text from AB 654. Last year, AB 651 was heard but failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The group Compassion & Choices, formerly known as The Hemlock Society, has been the main proponent of Assisted Suicide legalization. Currently, Oregon is the only state which has legalized assisted suicide in the U.S.
To sign a petition opposing AB 374, log on to the Catholics for the Common Good website: www.ccgaction.org. Additional information on AB 374 is available at www.cacatholic.org |