I am a Stage 4 cancer patient. The amazing folks at Dana Farber have kept me alive long past the expiration date given by doctors in Florida. However, it is a question of when not if the cancer returns. This uncommon cancer has an excruciatingly painful death process.
I was glad to hear that New York State had legalized Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), joining 13 states & D.C. There are 16 states with bills in process and two with amendments pending. This will give many people who are terminally ill and mentally capable the compassionate option of a peaceful, painless death rather than face unbearable pain and suffering at the end.
Public opinion polls have shown nearly 75% of the public supports this. Two separate joint healthcare committees passed it last year and Gov. Maura Healey has said she’d likely sign such a bill if passed by the Legislature.
The End of Life Options Act (S1486) sits in the Senate Ways and Means Committee without consideration or a vote. Chairperson Michael Rodrigues has failed to move it out for a full vote.
It is past time that we legalize Medical Aid in Dying. Contact your state senator, (find at malegislature.gov ). Urge them to contact Senate President Karen Spilka and call on her/him to prioritize this bill and bring it to a vote as soon as possible. Contact people elsewhere in Massachusetts, ask them to contact their state senator stating support for this bill. Urge them to call on Spilka for a vote on it now, leaving the House time to vote before the session ends in three months.
Cancer made the decision for me that I will die soon. I want a chance to die peacefully with dignity.
Priscilla Goldman
Chicopee