Massachusetts Hearing on Assisted Suicide Bill Tomorrow

On Friday, the Massachusetts House Judiciary Committee announced it would hold a public hearing the very next day on H1468, a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Massachusetts. It has been have long recognized that the New England states would be the new front for Compassion and Choices, the leading proponent of assisted suicide in the United States. Here is the evidence:

• The New Hampshire Judiciary Committee late last year decided not to recommend a measure to legalize assisted suicide. Earlier this year, the New Hampshire House defeated the measure by a 242-113 vote.
• Compassion and Choices filed suit in Connecticut asking the Court to rule that when a physician helps a patient to commit suicide, it is “aid-in-dying,” not assisted suicide.
• Now, the rush hearing in Massachusetts.

Not Dead Yet, other disability rights groups, a national Jewish group, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, and Massachusetts Citizens for Life are gearing up for tomorrow’s hearing. It is hoped that the committee is not prepared to railroad the bill through the legislature.

Barbara Lyons