Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition had these concerns about the new report: "The majority were 65 years old or older, and educated. Nearly half had private insurance. These factors are consistent with their being individuals with money. Older people with money are prime targets of abuse. Washington's act is, regardless, coercive: An heir who will benefit from the death, is allowed to help the person sign up for the lethal dose; there is no requirement of consent at the time of death." According to the report, 23 percent of the Washington residents who killed themselves via assisted suicide did so due to a concern about becoming a "burden" to their families.
Dr. Patricia O’Halloran, the vice president of Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation, pointed out other problems. Only three patients were referred for psychiatric evaluation — despite the fact that the primary reason people attempt and die from suicide is underlying depression. Also, the physician who wrote for the fatal overdose was present at the time it was ingested in only 3 of the 36 cases. "Who are these witnesses to death? Are they advocates of assisted suicide? In the remaining 45% of cases, we have no information as to whether anyone was present with the patient when they died. Did they die alone? . . . Without an unbiased, disinterested witness at death, there is no way to know if the patient was of sound mind and making an informed choice when the actual ingestion took place, or even if the patient ingested it voluntarily." LifeNews
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