Albuquerque Journal Editorial: Lawmakers’ plates are filled with weighty issues; it’s time to be sure they do no harm
Feb 28, 2021 Elizabeth Whitefield End of Life Options Act New Mexico
An excerpt from the Albuquerque Journal editorial, “Lawmakers’ plates are filled with weighty issues; it’s time to be sure they do no harm,” by the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board, published February 28, 2021:
"Medical-aid-in-dying legislation could be the most heart-wrenching legislation before lawmakers this session. Living through the prolonged death of a loved one with a terminal illness is a tough topic to talk about, even years later.
House Bill 47 would allow terminally ill patients to seek a doctor’s help to end their life. It contains critical safeguards, such as requiring that patients have the mental capacity to make the decision and the ability to self-administer the lethal medicine. The bill is in the Senate after passing the House by a wide margin. It’s time for New Mexico to join the nine states that give terminally ill patients a humane, medically supervised option...
In the coming days, lawmakers will take up these and many other issues important to New Mexicans – everything from a $2-a-pack tax hike on cigarettes to new high school graduation requirements. The stakes are very high. In this second half of the session, it’s time to get a second wind and decide what’s really worth fighting for. And legislators would be wise to observe the Hippocratic Oath and first do no harm."
