Death with dignity should be a legal option

The public health committee of the Connecticut state legislature is now holding hearings on H.B. 5417, which would “allow a physician to dispense or prescribe medication at the request of a mentally competent patient that has a terminal illness that such patient may self-administer to bring about his or her death.”

The bill’s opponents erroneously describe it as assisted suicide.

More properly called assisted death, the proposed legislation is based on the simple premise than individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness should have the right to choose how and when they will die with the help of physicians or others who provide medication or help in hastening death.

In the last decade, the assisted death movement has gained momentum, with Washington, D.C., and six states, including Vermont, now permitting it.

Regrettably, excluded from all U.S. legislation enacted thus far, is a provision to permit assisted death for those whom the New England Journal of Medicine has described as experiencing “existential suffering” or “psychological distress” resulting from “loss of autonomy” or “not being able to enjoy one’s life” as judged by the individuals.

Death with dignity is not for everyone. I, however, reject the right of anyone to deny me the choice of how I should die, and death with dignity should be a legal option. Clayton Hewitt Middletown