Support in isles high for medical aid in dying

Five in 7 Hawaii voters support efforts at the state Capitol to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients, according to the latest Hawaii Poll by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which found consistent support across younger and older voters, men and women, and ethnic groups statewide.

The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C., asked 800 randomly selected voters whether they think legislation allowing medically assisted death should be approved by the state Legislature.

A proposal making its way through the Legislature would allow mentally competent residents who are at least 18 years old and have been given six months or less to live to request prescriptions for lethal doses of medication to be self-administered.

Overall, 71 percent of poll participants said medical aid in dying should be approved while 19 percent said it should not be allowed. Ten percent were unsure.

The poll was conducted March 13-18 by telephone landlines and cellphones, and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Hawaii lawmakers have debated the controversial practice for nearly 20 years and are closer than ever to passing a law this legislative session.

The last time the full state Legislature took up the idea was in 2002, when the House approved a death-with-dignity bill but the Senate fell three votes short of passing it. Last year a similar bill easily cleared the full Senate but stalled in a House committee and never advanced to a floor vote.

This time around the House drafted a bill, House Bill 2739, approved it by a 39-12 vote and sent it over to the Senate, where it has advanced out of two committees and awaits a full Senate vote.

If approved as expected, it would head to Gov. David Ige, who has said he supports the measure and would be “proud and honored” to sign it into law.

In other states

Five states — California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia have legalized medical aid in dying. The Montana Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that physician- assisted death is legal there under existing state law.

East Honolulu resident Karen Siser, 81, who participated in the poll, said it’s time for Hawaii to pass a law.

Siser, who lives in a retirement community, said, “I’ve seen enough people where I live now linger on and on and on without hope of recovery. Why put the families and the patient through that emotional and expensive trauma?”

The retired Red Cross manager said she would want to have the option available to her.

“I’m very much in favor of it, and I think Hawaii should get on board,” Siser said. “I told my husband, ‘If I ever get to that point where there’s just no hope, pull the plug.’”

Honolulu resident Peir Kleider, 74, another poll participant, said he also supports medically assisted death.

“I’m all for it,” said Kleider, who retired from the National Fisheries Service. “I think it’s a matter of personal preference. To have this injection of religion (in the debate) is unwarranted. People have religious objections. That’s fine. Nobody’s forcing them. But they shouldn’t infringe on me.”

Life is a gift

In an initial public hearing last month on HB 2739, lawmakers listened to four hours of often emotional testimony split in favor of and against the measure.

Supporters asserted that mentally competent individuals should have the option to end their lives peacefully and with dignity rather than suffer from painful and debilitating illnesses. Opponents argued that life should be treated as a gift and equated medically assisted death with suicide. Some opponents worry that patients might end their lives prematurely, and say pain relief is already available through hospice and palliative care.

Eva Andrade, president of the Hawaii Family Forum, contends there’s a lot of misinformation on the subject.

“The survey results are not surprising. Physician- assisted suicide has been presented to the public as a matter of choice, but when people take a closer look at the bill itself, they have real concerns about what the bill will allow,” Andrade said in a statement. “When we tell people their 18-year-olds with a terminal illness can terminate their lives without letting anyone know, they are alarmed.”

She added, “It’s not just the faith-based community that has issued warnings. Physicians, even those who are in favor physician- assisted suicide, have strong reservations about the bill itself.”

Aubrey Hawk, spokeswoman for Compassion & Choices Hawaii, said she was “tremendously pleased but not really surprised” by the poll results, which seem to mirror other public opinion polls.

“I would say that some of the work we did in trying to really educate people on what this means — what medical aid in dying is and is not — with the help of (former Honolulu lobbyist) John Radcliffe’s story and the exposure that he was willing to give last year, really laid a firm groundwork for what’s happening in the Legislature this year,” she said.

“People didn’t use to talk about it. And now they feel like it’s not a taboo subject, and they realize that they do have a choice and should have a choice,” Hawk said.

The Hawaii Poll – March 2018: Assisted Death by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd