By Aditi Thube
Boston University News Service
Steve Sheehan remembers holding his wife’s hand as she begged him to help her die. Her cancer had spread, her pain was unbearable and there was nothing legally he could do.
Now, as Massachusetts lawmakers face a June deadline on a bill debated for 13 years to legalize medical aid in dying, stories like Sheehan’s are at the heart of a deeply emotional and divisive fight.
An Act Relative to End-of-life Options, which would allow terminally ill patients the legal option to end their lives with a doctor’s prescription, has sparked intense discussion across the state. The bill has drawn strong support as well as opposition. Advocates call it medical aid in dying, while critics call it physician-assisted suicide.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Reps. Jim O’Day and Ted Philips, seeks to allow mentally sound adults with a prognosis of six months or less left to live to voluntarily make an oral request for medical aid in dying and a prescription for medication that the patient can choose to self-administer to bring about a peaceful death.
Most in Massachusetts support right-to-die bill
Polling shows nearly 80% of Massachusetts residents support the legislation, but it has been met with significant resistance from religious groups and some disability advocates.
In cities like Fall River, where end-of-life care facilities have faced scrutiny for substandard conditions, advocates say the issue is especially urgent. The healthcare in Fall River has earned a “Special Focus Facility” designation due to its history of quality issues, including deficiencies in hospice care. The healthcare industry has also struggled with unsafe staffing levels, falling below the state average for nurse staffing hours per resident (3.42 hours compared to 3.9 hours). These ongoing deficiencies result in inadequate end-of-life care, advocates say.
“She used to tell me every day she doesn’t want to wake up tomorrow because of the pain, and that I do something about it,” said Sheehan, an advocate for assisted suicide in Massachusetts. “I have never felt so helpless.”
He said patients should have the right to make their own end-of-life decisions. “Who should decide how we die? It should be us,” he said. “We should have that right to decide for ourselves when the time comes to end our suffering.”
End-of-life option is legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C. Since Oregon became the first to legalize it in 1997 under its Death with Dignity Act, more than 5,300 patients have used the option nationwide by 2021. According to a 2022 study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, about 22% of Americans, roughly 74 million people, live in states where medical aid in dying is legal.
What guidelines are in place with right-to-die laws?
Advocates argue that Massachusetts needs to give patients the right to choose how they die. “The End of Life Options Act offers a compassionate option to allow mentally-capable patients with terminal diagnoses to choose a peaceful, humane death with dignity,” said Comerford. “At the same time, the legislation establishes rigorous safeguards for patients and physicians to follow to protect vulnerable people from coercion.”
“The bill was brought into the 2012 ballot, but we lost it by 51 to 49,” said Melissa Stacy, the New England campaign manager for Compassion & Choices. She said that the bill’s safeguards are proven to work. “Once people learn about the safeguards, they’re supportive. Seventy-nine percent of residents support it.”
She also highlighted the success of similar legislation in Washington and Oregon, where strict guidelines have been in place for over 30 years.
If passed, the bill would implement a detailed procedure to make sure that only eligible patients are given access to medical aid in dying. The bill includes strict safeguards to prevent abuse. The safeguards include the attending physician certifying that the patient is a Massachusetts resident, is terminally ill and mentally capable of requesting the dose. The patient has to voluntarily make oral and written requests as well as consult one more physician to confirm the diagnosis and to ensure the patient is mentally capable and acting voluntarily. The patient also has the right to rescind the request anytime.
Opponents of right-to-die say ‘misjudgments happen’
The bill has drawn significant opposition. Opponents argue that physician-assisted suicide is not the solution.
“A lot of people choose this option not because of pain but because they feel like a burden to society,” said John Kelly, director of Second Thoughts Massachusetts. “Instead of legalizing physician-assisted suicides, the state should focus on developing better healthcare facilities.”
Critics also raise concerns about misjudgments in terminal diagnoses. Anita Cameron, director of minority outreach for Not Dead Yet, a disability rights group, narrated the story of misjudgment by the doctor in her mother’s case.
“The doctor told my mom she was going to die very soon, and she was convinced she was dying soon and hence wanted to opt for physician-assisted suicide; however, luckily, she didn’t and lived for 12 years.
“A lot of times such misjudgments happen, and it is very concerning,” she added.
State Rep. Alan Silvia of the 7th Bristol District is very vocal about his opposition to the bill. Drawing on his experience as a detective in the Fall River Police Department’s Major Crimes Division, he shared his perspective on suicide and questioned the concept of dignity associated with physician-assisted dying.
“That wasn’t dignity. And if that wasn’t dignity, how is there dignity when a doctor writes a prescription to do the very same thing?” he asked during a hearing.
As the Statehouse prepares to make its decision, the bill’s future remains uncertain, but for Sheehan and others like him, the outcome of this bill won’t just be political; it could be the difference between helplessness and peace at the end of life.
This story originally appeared in The Herald News.
