(Union Leader) – For over two decades the independent people of New Hampshire have been solidly against assisted suicide. Since 1996, the New Hampshire legislature has studied or voted down this proposed law so many times it takes two hands to count them all.
Assisted suicide laws are the most egregious form of discrimination against severely disabled and “terminally ill” people. How can we call suicide a public health crisis for most people while facilitating the suicides of older, ill and disabled people?
Should we not be doing everything we can to support such persons in having the best possible health care and home care so they have quality of life for however long they have?
With the experience of the laws in Oregon as a guide, the question of assisted suicide becomes, quite frankly, incompatible with New Hampshire values. Our state motto, “Live Free or Die,” means we reject government interference in our daily lives. CONTINUE