Editorial: Assisted Suicide Needs Careful Consideration

As members of the Senate Judiciary Committee prepare to study the “doctor-prescribed death” bill, they would do well to critically evaluate whether the state has the ability to protect terminally ill Vermonters from manipulation, exploitation and coercion under an act promoted in the name of compassion.

One specific, timely and highly relevant illustration of a major regulatory failure can be found in connection with the state’s duty to protect vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. In early December, a disabilities rights group filed a suit against the state of Vermont because of its failure to protect disabled and elderly and otherwise vulnerable citizens of this state. This is not a trivial problem. The backlog has been running in the order of 300 cases yet to be investigated. The abuse and exploitation alleged ranges from financial manipulation and exploitation to physical and even sexual abuse. And sadly, much of that neglect and abuse is done by the very family members and those others charged with the care of the vulnerable adults.

It is blatantly absurd to suggest that the state of Vermont is competent to effectively manage a program that oversees doctor-prescribed death when it cannot even investigate and clear a backlog of 300 reported cases of abuse of the disabled and elderly, let alone prevent the abuse in the first place.

Assisted suicide is laden with the potential for manipulation and exploitation of the worst kind — i.e., exploitation and manipulation with fatal consequences.

~Pete Gummere
St. Johnsbury

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Assisted Suicide Needs Careful Consideration