Disability Rights and Independent Living Center Advocates Once Again Oppose Assisted Suicide in Assembly Appropriations Committee Wednesday

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 17  /PRNewswire/ -- Advocates from organizations representing people with disabilities and independent living centers will once again be at the Capitol to help defeat AB 374, a bill legalizing physician- assisted suicide in California that is set to be voted on by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, Wednesday, April 18th.
The Independent Living Center of San Francisco wrote, "We strongly oppose the legalization of assisted suicide in California because individuals, including those with disabilities, do not have access to sufficient medical care ... Without true choices in care, individuals who have unmet medical needs, insufficient finances to cover necessary care or who feel they are or will be a burden to their loved ones could be forced into choosing to end their life."
FREED Center for Independent Living argues against assisted suicide in their position that, "Proponents do not make the connection between assisted suicide and the lack of adequate health services, but to ignore this connection is to miss the point ...  Medical costs are soaring and access to needed care is stretching further beyond the reach of many.  People with disabilities who require a significant level of health care services are the most likely subjects of assisted suicide discussions."
For those under the misguided impression that this legislation only applies to "terminal" patients, we refer you to a letter from the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding assisted suicide,
   Diagnosing a terminal illness is not an exact science.  Studies have   confirmed that prognostic error in the case of terminal illness occurs   frequently.  In a study of 365 doctors and 504 hospice patients conducted   by Nicholas Christakis at the University of Chicago, only 20% of   prognoses were accurate.  Data available from the Office of Statewide   Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) shows that in 2004, 700 hospice   patients were discharged "live" because they no longer met the hospice   eligibility criteria of having less than six months to live.
Californians Against Assisted Suicide
CONTACT: Tim Rosales, +1-916-475-4900