PAS Proponents’ New Angle: Cheaper Suicide Drugs

We have known for a while that the proponents of assisted suicide will stop at nothing to advance support for this policy.  That said, the latest news is an angle we haven’t expected to see utilized.

They want to make the suicide drugs cheaper to purchase – as though access was the primary problem with this policy.

The New York Daily News reported this week on the effort by assisted suicide advocates to create a new, cheaper suicide drug, which entails combining three existing drugs into a lethal combination.  This effort was undertaken after Seconal, the primary drug used for physician assisted suicide, saw its price increase significantly.

The result was a less-expensive mix of three medications — phenobarbital, chloral hydrate and morphine sulfate. The powdered drugs could be mixed with water, alcohol or juice.  According to the report, “the new medication tastes worse, may take longer to work, and burns the mouth.”

Even so, 55, of the 155 patients seen by End of Life Washington last year chose the cheaper medication.  This is now being utilized in Oregon and considered for the new assisted suicide law in California.

This is just another day at the office for assisted suicide proponents.  No amount of demonstrable, disturbing pain caused to patients and their families should stand in the way of making this policy a reality.

We need to remind ourselves constantly that this battle will continue.