State Representative Mark Anderson Testifies Against S.B. No. 88

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to testify against the highly emotional and controversial Senate Bill No. 88, AN ACT CONCERNING AID IN DYING FOR TERMINALLY ILL PATIENTS, during the Public Health Committee’s public hearing. I shared my reasons why I am against any, and all potential legislation to allow doctor assisted suicide – along with a deeply personal account about my own experiences, which so many others unfortunately can relate to themselves.

My Thoughts on Senate Bill No. 88

The Hippocratic Oath that is taken by physicians dates back 2,400 years. It prohibited physician-assisted suicide so that a doctor would focus on preserving the health and life of the patient. The U.S. removed this phrase in 1964, suggesting a change in mindset.

S.B. No. 88 seems to be missing a provision that was in last years’ bill, one that I believe is the law in the few states and DC that permit this practice. That provision is that the cause of death be listed as the underlying disease, not suicide. Should this become the practice, that would be a lie codified into law. In Connecticut, is it to be left to the medical examiner to decipher without guidance of law or will that be added to this bill? It seems that cause of death instructions need to be provided for.

• This bill will incentivize suicide as a course of treatment as a means to reduce health insurance costs.
• This bill will harm life insurance carriers who cannot charge more or deny coverage to an individual who has signed a request for aid in dying.
• These are objective reasons to oppose this bill. Please permit me to give emotional arguments.

All of us have likely had someone close to us who would qualify for aid in dying under this bill. In 2012, I lost my first wife of over twenty-four years to stomach cancer. When first detected, it was stage 4, and she was given three months. But thanks to a great physician and aggressive treatment, she lived three years. During those three years, there were many precious family times with our two sons, as well as marital reconciliation. This was priceless. A doctor does not know when someone has less than six months to live. It is a guess.

One week ago, I lost my mother at the age of 87. She suffered from advanced dementia, and heart disease. But my father insisted on caring for her at home. She was declining, and would likely have qualified for hospice. Last Wednesday, she and my father had lunch at the home of a friend. When my father left the table to retrieve something in the car, my mother said to that friend, “You know, I love that man.” She did not say, and perhaps did not remember her husband’s name. That night, as he was helping her dress for bed, she passed away in his arms.

I suggest to you that this was death with dignity.

To summarize, here are reasons to oppose physician-assisted suicide:

• It undermines the physician-patient relationship
• It undermines the law pertaining to cause of death
• It undermines health insurance
• It undermines life insurance
• It undermines family relationships

Physician-assisted suicide is a leap into a very dark abyss. Please do not jump into that abyss!

To view my testimony to the Public Health Committee, pleaser click the image.