The Massachusetts Medical Society Speaks Out Against Ballot Question on Doctor Assisted Suicide

he Massachusetts Medical Society has released a statement in opposition to ballot Question 2 Prescribing Medication to End Life. The statement provides specific reasons supporting their position. These include:

·         Insufficient safeguards against abuse: there are no oversight, investigative, data verification, or enforcement procedures to prevent abuse; and an heir may be a witness to the patient’s signed request.

·         Predictions of end of life time frames are highly inaccurate; sometimes predictions are under estimated by six months to more than several years.

·         Assisted suicide is unnecessary for improved end of life care. Improvements for the quality of life at the end of life already exist.

·         Doctors should not participate in assisted suicide.

The Massachusetts Medical Society represents more than 24,000 physicians and medical students in the Commonweatlh of Massachusetts. To find out more about Question 2 and their opposition to Prescribing Medication to End of Life visit www.massmed.org/question2.

And please share this with family, friends, and members of your church. It’s important that the public know a variety of groups are standing up in opposition to Physician Assisted Suicide, and this very flawed and dangerous ballot initiative. Thank you.