www.internationaltaskforce.org
Revamping advance directives
Wed Mar 30, 2005 13:19
67.14.222.152
"Euthanasia forces are abroad in this land as never before ... the euthanasia movement is assuming the proportions of a juggernaut."
Dr. C. Everett Koop
United States Surgeon General
HOME:
http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/
Excerpt from: http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/iua28.htm
Revamping advance directives
The new Hemlock spin on advance health care directives is slick: "The Patient’s Rights Organization believes that the people themselves should be in charge of how the tools of modern medicine are used to prolong life, to assuage pain and preserve dignity." [Roadmap, p.1]
To that end, Hemlock is proposing a new measure for state legislatures to adopt: the "Patients’ Control & Comfort Act" (PCCA). While still in draft form, the measure will use benign language to cloak the act’s real intent. Essentially, it would decriminalize physician-assisted suicide for anyone who executes an "Advance Directive for Control of Suffering." The language in this new directive would contain the following:
"In the event that I am diagnosed with a terminal illness, I want to be able to control my own medication to lessen suffering and preserve my dignity and be in control of my own pain and suffering, to the full extent allowed by law, administering the prescribed medications as I deem fit even to the point of hastening death. This directive must be witnessed by at least two persons one of whom is not an heir or executed before a notary public." ["PCCA, Draft Highlights," 1/9/03; emphasis added]
Like Oregon’s assisted-suicide law, the PCCA "relieves prescribing physicians of responsibility for the decisions their patient makes." According to Merrill, the PCCA will have all the "safeguards" of the Oregon law. [P. Merrill, "Hemlock’s New Public Advocacy Strategy," 13th National Hemlock Conference, 1/10/03; hereafter cited as Conference]
Hemlock leaders think the PCCA "will be very difficult for the federal government to block. The rights given a patient under the law are very close to those granted physicians under the double effect doctrine. Efforts to limit the rights granted by this bill would be forced to focus directly on the concept of patient control, the area in which we are strongest." [Roadmap, "The Case to Hemlock Members for the Patients’ Control and Comfort Act," p. 1]
While Hemlock has targeted senior citizen organizations (especially AARP) to promote its advance directive, the campaign thrust is much broader and includes "religious, legal, and medical groups." They will be reaching out "to Americans through the mails, through their employers and through public service announcements letting them know what they must do to take control of their own end of life medical treatment." [Roadmap, p. 2]
"Statement of Principles"
In conjunction with the advance directive campaign, a consensus-building campaign will be launched and professionally orchestrated. According to public policy expert Robert Raben, of the Raben Group, organizations and individuals will be approached to endorse PRO-USA’s Freedom to Preserve the Dignity of Your Life, Statement of Principles. The statement, which is still in development, will be a composite of principles from Hemlock’s "mission to empower people at the end of life. The principles endorse the idea of people executing living wills and governments passing laws to empower dying patients." [Roadmap, p. 2]
The strategy, once again, is to use benign, vague language to describe generalized principles with which most people and organizations would agree. In other words, create a stealth-like document, the real meaning and purpose of which most endorsers would never suspect.
This is how Hemlock intends to build a consensus in favor of assisted suicide, Raben told conference attendees. Once Hemlock gets endorsers to sign on the dotted line, the names of all those individuals and organizations will be presented to lawmakers on every level nationwide to show overwhelming, concrete support for assisted dying. [R. Raben, Conference, 1/10/03]
http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/iua28.htm
Hemlock Counter-punch
Begins to Take Shape
Board adopts blueprint for public advocacy
Published 6/18/2002
At its May 31/June 1-2 meeting in Denver, the Hemlock board of directors endorsed a comprehensive blueprint for its public advocacy campaign. In addition to the use of focus-groups to hone its message, highlights of the plan include:
An aggressive public relations campaign, including creation of a speaker’s bureau.
A renewed effort to revitalize Hemlock’s local chapters and new ones where there aren’t any now.
The creation of a broad-based coalition of groups with strong representation in Washington, D.C.
A bold legislative strategy that, over the near term, seeks to prevent the federal government from taking choice away from the states and use the national effort to bring political credibility to this movement, over the near and medium term seeks to help pass legislation in most states to give dying patients control over their own death, and over the long term seeks to pass national legislation and/or federal rules that support self-determination at the end of life.
An effort to identify and work with supporters in state legislatures across the country.
The hiring of legislative and lobbying professionals to assist us in Washington, D.C.
Adoption of a legal strategy that includes identifying teams of lawyers in different regions of the country who are committed to our cause and who will act quickly to advocate/litigate for a dying patient in their part of the country.
An aggressive campaign to increase membership in and donations to Hemlock.
The plan is to be managed by a legislative committee composed of members of the Hemlock board and chaired by board chairman Fred Richardson of Portland, Maine.
http://www.hemlock.org/news/EditNews.asp?NewsCategory=Special+Report+1
Dr. C. Everett Koop
United States Surgeon General
HOME:
http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/
Excerpt from: http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/iua28.htm
Revamping advance directives
The new Hemlock spin on advance health care directives is slick: "The Patient’s Rights Organization believes that the people themselves should be in charge of how the tools of modern medicine are used to prolong life, to assuage pain and preserve dignity." [Roadmap, p.1]
To that end, Hemlock is proposing a new measure for state legislatures to adopt: the "Patients’ Control & Comfort Act" (PCCA). While still in draft form, the measure will use benign language to cloak the act’s real intent. Essentially, it would decriminalize physician-assisted suicide for anyone who executes an "Advance Directive for Control of Suffering." The language in this new directive would contain the following:
"In the event that I am diagnosed with a terminal illness, I want to be able to control my own medication to lessen suffering and preserve my dignity and be in control of my own pain and suffering, to the full extent allowed by law, administering the prescribed medications as I deem fit even to the point of hastening death. This directive must be witnessed by at least two persons one of whom is not an heir or executed before a notary public." ["PCCA, Draft Highlights," 1/9/03; emphasis added]
Like Oregon’s assisted-suicide law, the PCCA "relieves prescribing physicians of responsibility for the decisions their patient makes." According to Merrill, the PCCA will have all the "safeguards" of the Oregon law. [P. Merrill, "Hemlock’s New Public Advocacy Strategy," 13th National Hemlock Conference, 1/10/03; hereafter cited as Conference]
Hemlock leaders think the PCCA "will be very difficult for the federal government to block. The rights given a patient under the law are very close to those granted physicians under the double effect doctrine. Efforts to limit the rights granted by this bill would be forced to focus directly on the concept of patient control, the area in which we are strongest." [Roadmap, "The Case to Hemlock Members for the Patients’ Control and Comfort Act," p. 1]
While Hemlock has targeted senior citizen organizations (especially AARP) to promote its advance directive, the campaign thrust is much broader and includes "religious, legal, and medical groups." They will be reaching out "to Americans through the mails, through their employers and through public service announcements letting them know what they must do to take control of their own end of life medical treatment." [Roadmap, p. 2]
"Statement of Principles"
In conjunction with the advance directive campaign, a consensus-building campaign will be launched and professionally orchestrated. According to public policy expert Robert Raben, of the Raben Group, organizations and individuals will be approached to endorse PRO-USA’s Freedom to Preserve the Dignity of Your Life, Statement of Principles. The statement, which is still in development, will be a composite of principles from Hemlock’s "mission to empower people at the end of life. The principles endorse the idea of people executing living wills and governments passing laws to empower dying patients." [Roadmap, p. 2]
The strategy, once again, is to use benign, vague language to describe generalized principles with which most people and organizations would agree. In other words, create a stealth-like document, the real meaning and purpose of which most endorsers would never suspect.
This is how Hemlock intends to build a consensus in favor of assisted suicide, Raben told conference attendees. Once Hemlock gets endorsers to sign on the dotted line, the names of all those individuals and organizations will be presented to lawmakers on every level nationwide to show overwhelming, concrete support for assisted dying. [R. Raben, Conference, 1/10/03]
http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/iua28.htm
Hemlock Counter-punch
Begins to Take Shape
Board adopts blueprint for public advocacy
Published 6/18/2002
At its May 31/June 1-2 meeting in Denver, the Hemlock board of directors endorsed a comprehensive blueprint for its public advocacy campaign. In addition to the use of focus-groups to hone its message, highlights of the plan include:
An aggressive public relations campaign, including creation of a speaker’s bureau.
A renewed effort to revitalize Hemlock’s local chapters and new ones where there aren’t any now.
The creation of a broad-based coalition of groups with strong representation in Washington, D.C.
A bold legislative strategy that, over the near term, seeks to prevent the federal government from taking choice away from the states and use the national effort to bring political credibility to this movement, over the near and medium term seeks to help pass legislation in most states to give dying patients control over their own death, and over the long term seeks to pass national legislation and/or federal rules that support self-determination at the end of life.
An effort to identify and work with supporters in state legislatures across the country.
The hiring of legislative and lobbying professionals to assist us in Washington, D.C.
Adoption of a legal strategy that includes identifying teams of lawyers in different regions of the country who are committed to our cause and who will act quickly to advocate/litigate for a dying patient in their part of the country.
An aggressive campaign to increase membership in and donations to Hemlock.
The plan is to be managed by a legislative committee composed of members of the Hemlock board and chaired by board chairman Fred Richardson of Portland, Maine.
http://www.hemlock.org/news/EditNews.asp?NewsCategory=Special+Report+1
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Wednesday, 03/30/05
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