A New Hampshire legislator has introduced a bill that seeks to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in the state. If the bill passes, New Hampshire will become the third state, after Oregon and Washington, to permit assisted suicide.
The "Death with Dignity Act," proposed by state Rep. Charles Weed, D-Keene last month, permits patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness to request a prescription for lethal medication. A patient's request must be signed by two witnesses.
The bill has sparked strong opposition among conservative groups in New Hampshire, who argue that the act raises many ethical issues in expediting death.
"Historically, our society has been opposed to suicide," Dartmouth religion professor Ronald Green, faculty director of the Dartmouth Ethics Institute, said.
Cornerstone Policy Research, a New Hampshire-based conservative think tank, opposes the measure for a variety of ethical and practical reasons, executive director Kevin Smith said.
"Doctors are there to do good," he said. "They're there to help people, not to put people to death."
The bill does not adequately regulate assisted suicide, Smith said, and could allow people who would benefit financially from a patient's death to be involved in suicide decisions.
The act must also more clearly define "terminally ill," Smith said.
Weed said he believes opposition to the legalization of assisted suicide is "unfounded."
"Why should the government be involved in deciding whether or not [assisted suicide] can happen?" he said.
The state legislature is amending the bill to address several of the logistical concerns, Weed said, adding a provision to forbid relatives and those standing to benefit from the patient's will to act as the witnesses.
Although Weed said the legislation is unlikely to pass this year, Smith and Green said the proposal may signal the beginning of a larger trend towards popular acceptance of assisted suicide.
"What some people want, and it's reasonable, is a measure of control," Green said.
He added that some states are more likely than others to pass this type of legislation.
"I don't see Indiana passing this type of bill," Green said, estimating that a majority in 60 to 70 percent of states oppose assisted suicide. "The states that have stuck out here are what we call 'progressive states.'"
The measures legalizing assisted suicide in Oregon and Washington, both of which were passed through popular referendums, have been implemented successfully, Green said.
"There is no evidence that they have been abused to kill people," he said.
Weed, who describes himself as a "left-leaning Democrat," said he decided to sponsor the legislation in part because of his personal experience with the issue -- his mother decided to end her life with the help of a hospice nurse.
"It's been an interest of mine," Weed said, adding that he has stepped down from leadership roles within the Democratic party and now has additional time to pursue the measure.
