On July 26,1990 President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. This historic legislation prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities, but we nevertheless must remain vigilant to ensure that our right to live is not compromised.
Right now, those of us with disabilities are facing a significant battle: the defeat of a growing movement that wants to make physician-assisted suicide legal in Illinois. This fight is one with the goal to, literally, save our lives.
Proponents of physician-assisted suicide call it ‘medical aid in dying’ and say that the practice is humane and compassionate, and relieves the person from pain. They say doctor-assisted suicide is what the disabled person (anyone with a six months’ prognosis, and thus eligible for physician-assisted suicide, are disabled by definition of the ADA) wants; that the doctor is simply fulfilling a last wish for the patient. Another argument from proponents is that doctor-assisted suicide will be strictly regulated. They say assisted suicide providers empower people who are of sound mind, but who have a terminal illness, with options for controlling their death.
But opponents argue that doctor-assisted suicide is full of avenues for abuse, coercion and harm. The overwhelming majority of people who have been helped to die by doctors had various disabilities; for instance, most of those using physician-assisted suicide have cancer, which is listed as a disability by the ADA.
As a 67-year-old woman with a significant disability, I have been a vocal opponent of doctor-assisted suicide for decades. I cannot help but question whether the people who have been helped to end their lives, in the states where the practice is now legal, had adequate access to the numerous services available to them to make life easier. Services such as peer support, personal assistant services, home modification programs, living skills enhancement, or hospice and palliative care.
Did their health insurance meet their needs? Was health insurance even available to them? Did relatives, friends, and doctors give subtle or overt cues that ending their lives would be much better?
The National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency, in 2019 released the findings of a study that found the ‘’safeguards” in place in suicide assistance laws are ‘’ineffective’’ and also ‘’fail to protect patients.’’
Health care is already inequitable
Diane Coleman, founder of Not Dead Yet, a national grassroots group that opposes legalization of assisted suicide, has pointed out that “assisted suicide drugs are cheaper than meeting the actual health care needs of people with a terminal or serious, advanced condition.” That’s because medical treatment, hospitalizations, nursing homes and home care would quickly exceed the cost of drugs provided to those who request them, as well as the cost of doctor visits required under assisted suicide laws.
A good example of this comes from Dr. T. Brian Callister, who wrote in 2021 about why he opposes assisted suicide. He had two patients, one from California and one from Oregon, who needed lifesaving treatments but were denied them by their insurers. However, unprompted, both were offered physician-assisted suicide. Yet with treatment, neither patient was terminal.
Because our health care system already does not treat everyone equally, the practice of physician-assisted suicide raises the risks for those who too often do not get the same access and thus treatment as others. This includes people with disabilities, veterans, people with mental illness, older people and those who cannot afford high-quality health care. How this manifests in the health care system is illustrated in the movie “Million Dollar Baby,” which feeds into the attitude that many non-disabled people who become disabled are then ‘’better dead than disabled.’’ The main character became paralyzed during a boxing match. She was also poor. Disability and poverty are two major factors that have the potential of making assisted suicide seem desirable. As for mental illness, none of the physician-assisted suicide laws have strong requirements that persons seeking it be evaluated by a psychiatrist.
I am a proud member of “Stop Assisted Suicide Illinois.” This organization includes representatives from a diverse representation of communities including disability rights, patients’ rights, health care, hospice care, human rights, senior rights, veterans, and various faith-based advocacy organizations. All parties are committed to keeping Illinois a doctor-assisted suicide free state.
The doctor/patient relationship is sacred. It is a bond that is strengthened by mutual trust. Legalizing doctor assisted suicide irrefutably erases that trust. Illinois lawmakers must unequivocally reject legalizing doctor assisted suicide. To do less will leave a stain on our state of which we all will be ashamed.
Pam Heavens lives with a significant disability and has been a disability advocate for over 35 years. She lives in Joliet.
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