Maryland Against Physician
Assisted Suicide
The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC), together with the Archdiocese of Washington, opposes physician-assisted suicide because it seeks to legalize the intentional taking of human life. We are joined by disability advocates, members of the medical and mental health community, patient advocates, lawyers, eldercare organizations, and other faith communities through the Maryland Against Physician Assisted Suicide coalition.
Did you know that powerful out-of-state activists are trying to bring physician-assisted suicide to Maryland?
Tell your state legislators: NO assisted suicide.
What actually happens in a physician-assisted suicide?
A doctor prescribes a lethal drug cocktail – up to 100 pills – that a person picks up at the local
pharmacy, grinds up into half a cup of water, and drinks in less than two minutes. Sometimes, the
person can take hours or days to die. Plus, there are no requirements for a witness or notification
of family. Assisted suicide isn’t dignified, it’s deadly.
Physician-assisted suicide incentivizes denying cancer treatment
In states where assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have turned down coverage for
cancer treatment but offered to pay for suicide drugs instead. Stop this from happening in
Maryland.
Physician-assisted suicide urges suicide for elderly
Elderly in Maryland have a higher rate of suicide than any other age group – double the teen suicide
rate. Yet a proposed physician-assisted suicide bill would not require any mental health evaluation
to screen for depression. Assisted suicide isn’t dignified, it’s deadly.
Physician-assisted suicide tells people they’re burdensome
In Oregon, data shows people request suicide drugs not for pain, but because they can’t do the
same activities that they could before, can’t control bodily functions, feel they’ve lost dignity or
feel they are a burden. Suicide drugs aren’t the answer. Everyone deserves loving, supportive care,
affirmation of their dignity, and to know that they are never a burden.
Physician-assisted suicide is dangerous for Maryland
If assisted suicide became legal, up to 100 pills would be prescribed to a person. These lethal drugs
would then be dispensed at your neighborhood pharmacy. Data shows that where assisted suicide
is legal, up to 40% of the drugs are never used – and there are no requirements for their disposal.
They could end up in the hands of kids, in the trash or in a local creek or pond. We don’t need that
in Maryland. Assisted suicide isn’t dignified, it’s deadly.
Disability rights activists oppose physician-assisted suicide
Major disability rights groups including The Arc of Maryland and National Council on Disability
oppose physician-assisted suicide. Disabled people already face prejudice from doctors and people
who assume they’re “better dead than disabled.” Assisted suicide encourages this kind of
prejudice. People with disabilities deserve care, not suicide.
Doctors oppose physician-assisted suicide
The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and dozens of other
medical groups oppose physician-assisted suicide. The AMA says, “Physician-assisted suicide is
fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.” Physicians are entrusted with
saving lives, not ending them.
Marylanders deserve excellent pain management, not physician-assisted suicide
Maryland has excellent, modern palliative care programs to alleviate suffering – no one’s pain
should be unmanageable in our state. Hospice care is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and private
insurance. Marylanders deserve the best in pain management and quality care, not suicide drugs.
Fighting Physician-Assisted Suicide in Maryland
Watch this webinar where experts discuss what physician assisted suicide is and what it would
mean in Maryland:
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Dr. Marie-Alberte Boursiquot, Howard County internist
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Anita Cameron, disability rights activist with Not Dead Yet
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Dr. Annette Hanson, forensic psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry
Join the Maryland Catholic Advocacy Network
Our state’s General Assembly creates laws that affect us, our church, families, and vulnerable
neighbors. The Maryland Catholic Advocacy Network keeps you informed and gives you a voice.
You will receive action alerts on critical issues plus occasional email updates from the Maryland
Catholic Conference: mdcatholic.org/joincan or text MDCATHOLIC to 52886.
