VAEH Newsletter #30

February 13, 2005

Hi Folks,

I apologize for another newsletter so soon after the last. I really don’t want to clutter your e-mail, but now is a very important time in regard to the so-called “Death With Dignity Bill” (H-168). This bill has been given to the House Human Services Committee, and the 11 representatives on this committee will, at some point, decide whether the bill goes to the entire House for a vote. These 11 legislators need to hear from you!

Here is contact information for the 11 House Human Services Committee members:

Representative Ann D. Pugh; D; Chair
67 Bayberry Lane; South Burlington, VT 05403 863-6705
UVM, Dept. of Social Work 656-8800
apugh@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Michael Fisher; D; , Vice-Chair
364 Cobb Hill Road; Lincoln, VT 05443 453-5517
Addison County Parent Child Center
Box 646
Middlebury 05753 388-3171
mfisher@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Anne B. Donahue; R
148 Donahue Drive; Northfield, VT 05663 485-6431
adonahue@leg.state.vt.us counterp@tds.net

Representative William R. Frank; D
19 Poker Hill Rd; Underhill, VT 05489 899-3136
WFrank@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Patsy French; D
886 Harlow Hill; Randolph, VT 05060 728-9421
pfrench@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Stephen Green; D
242 Rowell Hill Rd; Berlin, VT 05602 223-6670
SGreen@leg.state.vt.us sjgreen@sover.net

Representative Sandy Haas; P
P.O. Box 25; Rochester, VT 05767 767-4751
SHass@leg.state.vt.us shass@sover.net

R epresentative Thomas F. Koch; R
326 Lowery Road; Barre (Town), VT 05641 479-2688
Bernasconi & Koch P.C.; P.O. Box 892; Barre 05641 476-4141
tkoch@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Clint Martin; D
903 French Meadow Road; Springfield, VT 05156 886-8470
cmartin@leg.state.vt.us ctm@vermontel.com

Representative Norman H. McAllister; R
712 Hanna Road; Franklin, VT 05457 285-6363
nmcallister@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Katherine R. Niquette; R
64 Ford Lane; Colchester, VT 05446 865-2180
KNiquette@leg.state.vt.us RennNiquette@aol.com

Representatives are particularly interested in hearing from their own constitutents, so be especially sure to contact your own rep. if you live in: Northfield, Colchester, South Burlington, Lincoln, Jericho, Underhill, Bolton, Rochester, Stockbridge, Berlin, Barre, Springfield, Richford, Franklin, Highgate, or Randolph. If you live in one of these towns, please try to get neighbors who oppose this legislation to also make contacts. If you do not live in these towns, but know folks who do, ask them to do you (us) a favor by contacting their rep.

These legislators need to know that you oppose legalizing assisted suicide, which is currently banned by common law in Vermont. Reasons to oppose the bill include:

The presence of assisted suicide and/or euthanasia impairs the focus and effectiveness of life-affirming end of life care. Legislators should support H-115, the advance directives bill that promotes good end of life care, not a bill that instead facilitates death due to lack of good end of life care. Last week, the federal government announced proposed budget cuts in housing and other basic services used by the chronically ill. Any further loss of basic survival services makes assisted suicide more a decision of desperation than choice.
Although the bill says assisted suicide is the patient's decision and there are supposed safeguards, in the real world terminally ill people are vulnerable to the conflicting interests of others. The presence of lethal drugs opens a pandora's box that must stay closed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear an appeal on whether physicians can use federally controlled drugs to assist with suicide, as is done in Oregon. They will decide in the next few weeks whether to hear the case, and if they do, sometime this summer will hand down a decision. It would be a waste of the Legislature's time to contemplate introducing a law that may be overruled.

In other news:

We have updated several resources on our website and will be replacing our critique of last year’s bill with an updated critique within the next few days.
The Burlington Free Press finally published an op-ed piece today exposing the bias in the Zogby poll results; it was submitted soon after the DWD folks announced the poll results, but the Free Press waited and paired it with another opinion piece supporting the poll data.

Bob Orr, President
Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare