New Mexico: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of ... DeathBy Janet Phelan The 5-0 ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that doctors in New Mexico could assist people in terminating their lives. The New Mexico ruling highlights the controversy sparked by these laws. Several European countries now affirm the legality of assisted suicide and/or voluntary euthanasia, including Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Canada recently passed an assisted suicide law and five US statesOregon, Washington, Vermont, California and Montanahave all approved assisted suicide. The proponents of AS state that these laws are compassionate towards those who are in the end stages of life and that AS will provide relief from terrible suffering. According to Dr. Balfour Mount, who has been dubbed the father of palliative care, this ignores certain medical realities. In a 2014 interview, Mount stated, Theres no need [to legalize euthanasia] because of pain and symptom control. Were able to control the suffering, and through palliative care with a skilled team able to minimize suffering thats physical, psychological, social, spiritual, existential. In his opinion, New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Edward Chavez wrote: end of life decisions are inherently fraught with the potential for abuse. The courts decision highlighted three specific areas of such potential abuse. First, according to the opinion, the State has legitimate interests inprotecting the integrity and ethics of the medical profession. In other words, giving physicians the license to prescribe life-ending substances is a departure from the impetus of the profession and its two thousand year old caveat: First, do no harm. Incidentally, following the passage of the California law, a non-practicing physician decided to re-enter his profession solely for the purpose of providing assisted suicide services to Californians. Second, the New Mexico opinion asserts that the State has an interest in protecting vulnerable groupsincluding the poor, the elderly, and disabled personsfrom the risk of subtle coercion and undue influence in end-of-life According to the disability rights advocacy group, Not Dead Yet, The disability experience is that people who are labeled terminal, predicted to die within six months, are or will become disabled. It is well documented that the six month prediction called for in the Oregon and Washington laws is unreliable. Not Dead Yet points out that disability, rather than physical pain, appears to be the deciding factor in whether or not an individual chooses assisted suicide. Although intractable pain has been emphasized as the primary reason for enacting assisted suicide laws, the top five reasons Oregon doctors actually report for issuing lethal prescriptions are the loss of autonomy (89.9%), less able to engage in activities (87.4%), loss of dignity (83.8%), loss of control of bodily functions (58.7%) and feelings of being a burden (38.3%). (Death With Dignity Act Annual Reports, PDF download) The New Mexico ruling also referenced the slippery slope that such physician-assisted suicide laws may subtly enable. The decision asserted that the State had an interest in protecting against voluntary or involuntary euthanasia because if physician aid in dying is a constitutional right, it must be made Indeed, assisted suicide is already being utilized by those merely afflicted with ennui. Recently, a retired English schoolteacher reportedly flew to Switzerland to end her life because she could not adjust to the modern world. An Italian woman was also reported as going to Switzerland to drink the kool aid because she was depressed about losing her looks. And ratcheting up concerns about the slippery slope potential, a recent article in a bioethics journal bore the headline, Should Happy Demented People be Euthanized? The article, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, made a serious stab at considering the legal and ethical implications of whether someone who had signed a medical directive, asking to be euthanized should he end up with dementia, should have his wishes honored if the dementia had resulted in a state of happy forgetfulness of his prior wish. In an ironic twist, the case before the New Mexico Supreme Court was initially filed in 2012 by a woman who was suffering from uterine cancer. Aja Riggs, who has since gone into remission, has vowed to continue the legal battle for the right to die. As quoted in the Taos Journal, Riggs stated that: I absolutely still believe its something that people should have a right to Although I have managed to survive to see this decision, which was not necessarily expected, all of my time learning about this has only increased by feelings about how important it is for people who are terminally ill to have this option available, in addition to other options that are now legal and available. Suicide, however, is not illegal and some believe that the codification of a right to die will have unforeseen culture-changing ramifications. In a recent interview with Bioedge, author and attorney Wesley J. Smith stated, I have observed in the 15 years since the first edition of Culture of Death, that throughout the developed world and the West we see a terrible and increasing disrespect for the intrinsic value of the most weak and vulnerable among us. Euthanasia has spread like a stain and grown increasingly toxic. For example, in Belgium medicalized killing is now coupled with organ harvestingincluding of the mentally ill. Health care rationing, which is blatant and invidious medical discrimination, is a growing threat. Advocacy continues to discard the dead donor rule in organ transplant medicine, even proposals for the live-harvesting of patients with profound cognitive disabilities. Not everyone agrees. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico has called the decision tragic news for terminally ill New Mexicans and has stated it will now devote its efforts towards changing this law. It should be noted that while the ACLU is apparently diligently serving those who wish to die, it remains curiously silent about those who wish to live. The ACLU has been repeatedly contacted concerning the involuntary euthanasias now regularly being executed against those under adult guardianships, also elderly or disabled. To date, the ACLU has declined to involve itself in a single case involving an individual who wished to escape from a guardianship. Janet C. Phelan, investigative journalist and human rights defender that has traveled pretty extensively over the Asian region, an author of a tell-all book EXILE, exclusively for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook. Here are the Death Panels that was 1st introduced as a meme a couple of 3 yrs ago on the ww/MSM More whirlwind fallout from We the Peopleism, aka humanism, aka man doing that which is right in his own sight, per Judges 21:25. [B]ecause they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:1,7) For more, see online Chapter 3 The Preamble: WE THE PEOPLE vs. YAHWEH of Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective. Click on my name, then our website. Go to our Online Books page, click on the top entry, and scroll down to Chapter 3. Then find out how much you REALLY know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the right-hand sidebar and receive a complimentary copy of a book that EXAMINES the Constitution by the Bible. INTERN CAMPS A gobbledegook sentence if I ever read one. WTF does it even mean? Suicide, however, is not illegal I would want a dr. Kevorkian-like medico to help me when my body has failed me. The Roman Catholic Church controls New Mexico and its justices. A state of uneducated zombies with no respect for the Law or for Knowledge. Bias, prejudice and discrimination are a constant in New Mexico. Nepotism runs the state. What cannot be found in New Mexico: Fresh ideas; Imagination; Kindness; Honesty; or Decency. Obviously, you dont live here Sorry, you are so wrong. Been living in New Mexico for more than a decade. I will also share with you that a friend who was a very popular doctor in Santa Fe recently left New Mexico after more than 25 years of enjoying an extremely large practice, and he could not wait to exit New Mexico for the reasons stated in my post above. My familys history in New Mexico goes back to 1871, and while we were not Spanish conquistadores, my family founded towns, conducted business, participated in territorial governance, etc., etc. In the work Ive done in New Mexico, I have been astounded by the total disrespect for fairness, hard work and knowledge. Admittedly, Governor Richardson was a total low point in decency and honesty, with lawyers buying judgeships throughout the state for $5000. Richardson was beyond corrupt, and he was driving the boat when it killed another. He had, shall we say, a huge drinking problem. Well, just meeting someone in New Mexico with manners is a challenge. 