Reminder: We Can Win

Our focus in these blog posts is to clarify false claims made by proponents of the assisted suicide bill before the Death with Dignity Workgroup.  We want you to take this information and be prepared to combat the misinformation used by physician assisted suicide proponents who will stop at nothing to get this passed.

There is one critical fact that is completely separate of the policy and more about the politics of the assisted suicide debate: the false claim that the people overwhelmingly support assisted suicide legalization.

Proponents will argue that this is a done deal; simply a matter of time before we move state by state and country by country.  This is your official reminder: we can win.

There have been many examples that show we are far from decided on assisted suicide being a safe, reasonable idea for dealing with our flawed end-of-life care system.  The rebukes have been voted on, legislated, and asserted with clarity and confidence.  In fact, it’s just as important to note that these rejections are not from a bygone era.

A few months ago, before assisted suicide proponents created a special session explicitly designed to sneak this bill into passage, the same was soundly defeated in the normal legislative process.  While the bill did pass the State Senate, the proponents in the California State Assembly decided against even considering the legislation because they did not have the votes!

It was not simply that the bill did not pass – the proponents knew it was a lost cause.  So how about another high-profile recent case of assisted suicide coming up for consideration?  That happened in British Parliament – a proponent heard in that debate just spoke in Maryland – and the decision…

…was a resounding no!  The proposal was defeated in the House of Commons, losing 118-330!

This is far from over, so keep that in mind when you make our case to the Maryland General Assembly.