It seems the bad news keeps coming today. The Nevada Assembly just acted on a shocking new piece of legislation to legalize assisted suicide and passed it 23-18. This despite the fact that Governor Lombardo has already vowed to veto any such legislation that reaches his desk. After a disappointing committee hearing, deeply concerning amendments were added this bill which, if possible, further strips protections from vulnerable patients.
Despite proponents claiming that at every stage this should be voluntary and that at any stage a patient can change their mind, these amendments impose a DNR order on anyone overdosing on lethal drugs as prescribed in this bill. If EMTs are called, they must not act to save the patient. Imagine someone taking the drugs and regretting their decision (as is often the case with survivors of suicide attempts). Their loved ones call 911 to get them the help they need and EMTs are then required by law to stand by and watch someone die.
Emergency responders would have no way of verifying that the patient took the drugs in the first place of their own free will and then become complicit in abusive or coercive deaths. Any patient can choose to have a DNR if they wish but it should not be imposed by law. Proponents often say that these drugs are simply there for peace of mind; if that were the case, the law should not presume that patients would not wish to be resuscitated.
Questions abound about how EMTs would even know whether or not patients needed care due to assisted suicide drugs or what liabilities they may face if they get it wrong. Not only does this bill place our most vulnerable neighbors at extreme risk of discriminatory care, but it now places our emergency personnel is a no-win situation as they're faced with questions about who they should or should not try and provide care to. While assisted suicide always opens the door for abuse, these amendments make it even worse.
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PRAF is a leading national, non-partisan single-issue organization that protects the rights of patients, people with disabilities, older adults, and other historically underrepresented groups from deadly harm and discrimination inherent in assisted suicide laws. |
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