Question response: Should legislators add end-of-life options?
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A bill that would amend the Delaware Code relating to end-of-life options for a terminally ill person cleared the House Health & Human Development Committee last week. What should legislators consider as they debate medical aid in dying for the terminally ill?
The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law isn’t just about dying. It’s also about living. Passage of this bill will help people in Delaware with a terminal illness conserve their energy and strength for the fight for more time to live — to undergo chemotherapy, radiation and other treatments without having to worry about how they will die. To be able to fully live their final months and years, knowing that, if things get too tough in their last days, that they have the option to legally end their suffering and die peacefully. I am convinced that, if this legislation had been in place in 2012 when my husband, Ron, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that he would have lived better and longer. — Susan Lahaie
Medical aid in dying is an important option for those with terminal cancer or other conditions. Note that I said “option” and not requirement or mandate. Does any one person or government have a right to deny this option to the terminally ill? Clearly, the answer is no. So please support HB 140, the medical aid in dying bill. Contact your legislators now. — drrjv
