Physician-assisted suicide supported

It’s been 15 years since Hawaii came within three Senate votes of passing a bill that would allow residents with terminal illnesses to request prescriptions for lethal dosages of drugs.

In the years since then, bills that would enable physician-assisted suicide, or what advocates refer to as medical aid in dying, have gotten little traction. But advocates are hopeful that this will be the year that they succeed, allowing Hawaii to join six other states that permit residents who are in the final stages of dying the ability to control when, where and how they die.

“I have taken care of dying patients for many, many years,” Dr. Charles Miller, a retired oncologist, told a group of about 180 people gathered in the auditorium of the state Capitol on Tuesday night for an informational briefing on proposed legislation. “Over this time I have come to very strongly believe that all persons should have the right to decide how and when to end their life when, in their judgment, the suffering becomes unbearable.”

The forum was organized by Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization based in Denver which has advocated for state laws legalizing the medical assistance. Joining Miller on stage for the event were Mary Steiner, the organization’s Hawaii campaign manager, and longtime lobbyist John Radcliffe, who has become a major champion of passing an “aid in dying” bill.

Radcliffe, 74, was diagnosed in 2014 with incurable colon cancer that has spread to his liver. He’s undergoing his 43rd round of chemotherapy.

“The people who are opposing this mainly are using religion, Christianity, to pursue a political agenda that demands that we all follow them, and we’re not going to do that,” said Radcliffe. “Because this is not about suicide. This is about pain and suffering. And on that issue, I ask all of you, how much pain and suffering and anxiety must a medically terminal patient endure? How much is enough?”

Support for legalizing the prescriptions has already garnered significant political support.

House Speaker Joe Souki has said he supports the option, and has introduced one of several bills this session that would legalize the prescriptions. In December former Hawaii Govs. George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie wrote an opinion piece in support of medical aid for dying patients that was published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

“Local polls show the vast majority of kama‘aina support medical aid in dying because they want this option to avoid unbearable suffering at the end of life,” they wrote. “It is time to authorize the practice in Hawai‘i; we urge lawmakers to act in 2017.”

In a recent poll, 80 percent of Hawaii residents said that mentally capable adults with a terminal illness “definitely should” or “probably should” be legally allowed to request a prescription from their doctor to “end their suffering in their final stage of dying,” according to a poll conducted by Anthology Marketing Group that was paid for by Compassion & Choices.

Still, debate over the issue is expected to be emotional, and opponents are already making their presence known at the Capitol.

Former Hawaii Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, a Republican who now heads a group called Hawaii Family Advocates, which supports a “Biblical worldview,” sent out an email last week to supporters alerting them to the proposed legislation.

“The assisted suicide bills introduced showcases the multi-faceted, confusing, language supported by its proponents,” he wrote. “(We can’t keep up with all their semantics)! Suicide is suicide no matter how you try to spin it!”