If you look back at stories going back to at least 2013, a common headline, or a variation thereof, has been “Connecticut assisted suicide House Bill is dead.”
As of today, fortunately we can add 2018 to the years a coalition of organizations, including the Pro-Life Council of Connecticut, has fended off another campaign by the pro-euthanasia movement.
Although technically Wednesday is the last day for this legislative session, the chairman of the Public Health Committee said Monday would be the committee’s last meeting. HB 5417 is dead for this year.
This year’s bill was euphemistically titled “An Act Concerning End-Of-Life Care” (HB 5417). The leading proponent? Who else? Compassion & Choices, formerly (and more correctly) known as the Hemlock Society.
As one opponent, Cathy Ludlum of Second Thoughts Connecticut, observed
It’s bad enough to have to go through this ordeal all over again. We were shocked to see that HB 5417 (A) is identical to HB 7015, which was heard in 2015. The only things that have been changed are the title and the effective date. All of the testimony opposing the 2015 bill is still relevant.
According to Max Reiss of NBC Connecticut
Ludlum, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy and is confined to a wheelchair, said providing an option of whether to end your life in a medical setting blurs the entire issue.
“People think this is about choice but once assisted suicide is available it distorts choice and there’s no way around that no matter what safeguards they put in place. You don’t know what’s going on at home,” she said.
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Susan Smith, President of the Pro-Life Council of Connecticut, told NRL News Today
This 2018 Legislative Session was a great victory for our ProLife movement in Connecticut. We cannot let physician-assisted suicide legislation pass in our state.
We should never provide a suicide pill or lethal injection to someone. They need the best of palliative care which includes genuine healthcare and comfort.
Smith added this warning:
We must never take this win for granted. The pro-euthanasia movement is well organized in this battle, not only in our state, but in most states around the country.
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
