Connecticut Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide Defeated in Committee

State   |   Peter Wolfgang   |   Mar 28, 2014   |   2:57PM   |   Hartford, CT

Because the Public Health Committee is not meeting today–their deadline–the Assisted Suicide bill will be officially dead at 5 pm. We told you that defeating the Assisted Suicide bill in Committee was the highest legislative priority of the Family Institute of Connecticut Action in 2014. Today, for the second year in a row, FIC Action and our allies accomplished exactly that.

In fact, in all the years I have been involved with FIC–as volunteer, public policy director and president–we have never defeated a bill as decisively as this one–even more so than last year. This was, quite simply, some of the best work FIC Action has ever done.

picassistedsuicide15Just two days ago, Compassion and Choices (C&C), the pro-Assisted Suicide group, sent an email blaming their defeat on “10 lobbying firms hired by the opposition.” But the one group C&C has repeatedly attacked by name, in emails to their own membership, is the Family Institute of Connecticut. And our most crucial ally, Second Thoughts-Connecticut, is an all-volunteer organization of people with disabilities that spent literally about $12 on lobbying.

The fact is that C&C made a quarter-of-a-million-dollars gamble and they lost. They even lost ground in the Public Health Committee compared to last year, failing even to get their bill on the agenda for a vote. That C&C could not even accomplish a first step in legalizing Assisted Suicide in Connecticut–that their bill “died in committee” without even the possibility of a vote by today’s deadline–shows how decisively FIC Action and our allies won this battle.

And why did we win so decisively? Because our allies conducted a good press conference. Because we had the best public hearing in the history of FIC Action. Because you, our faithful members, contacted your legislators. Because those legislators listened and were genuinely open to being educated on the dangers of Assisted Suicide.

Our opponents claim that they are the ones who speak for Connecticut citizens. Unfortunately for their talking points, Democratic Rep. David Zoni (Southington) told the truth to the media: that the emails sent by Assisted Suicide supporters to legislators were the more manufactured ones, having “similar wording and identical subject lines.” (This was true even of the pro-Assisted Suicide testimony submitted to the Public Health Committee, 10% of which began “Dear Testimony…”)

Our opponents claim that the majority supports Assisted Suicide. If that were true, they could have at least voted the bill out of the first of several committees it had to go through before becoming law. But they could not even do that.

We must continue to be on our guard. Though it is unlikely, the Assisted Suicide bill could return as an amendment on another bill before the close of the legislative session on May 7th. Even if it does not, our opposition has vowed to bring it back next year.

That is a threat we take very seriously, especially in light of what FIC Action and our allies are really up against in Connecticut: Big Suicide, funded by billionaire George Soros.

Despite our decisive victory today, the war is not over. Indeed, it may continue for several years. FIC Action is grateful to know that in the battles ahead we are not alone. We have you, our faithful members. We have our allies, especially the people with disabilities and advocates for the elderly that did so much to make today’s victory possible. And we have God–or rather, He has us–the One through Whom all good things come, including today’s success. Thank you, almighty God.

LifeNews Note: Peter Wolfgang is the president of Family Institute of Connecticut