Delaware Online Letter to the Editor: Don't be afraid of HB 140
Feb 3, 2020 Delaware letter to the editor
An excerpt from a Delaware Online letter to the editor by Milton resident Lorraine Anderson, “Don't be afraid of HB 140,” published Jan. 31, 2020:
As a nurse, I must disagree with a letter written by Bess McAneny that said “HB 140 is dangerous...”
This compassionate legislation includes safeguards designed to protect terminally ill people, including those with dementia. There has not been a single reported incident of abuse in the 10 jurisdictions where medical aid in dying is available, including in Oregon, where the law has been in place for more than two decades.
Medical aid in dying laws protect people with disabilities from coercion and exploitation through strict eligibility requirements and safeguards. The national Disability Rights Legal Center that says medical aid in dying “poses no threat to people with disabilities...” I urge the people of Delaware to contact their legislators and ask them to support the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Act so terminally-ill Delawareans have the option to die peacefully without unnecessary pain.
