Nancy Elliot Made a Difference

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

I first met Nancy in 2009, due to her having invited me to testify in opposition to HB 303, a then pending bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in the New Hampshire Legislature. 

The bill was defeated in large part due to her efforts, both in front and behind the scenes.

HB 1659-FN: Say No to Non-Voluntary Euthanasia

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

Margaret Dore, Esq.

This is a short summary version, click here to view Dore memo.

The proposed Death with Dignity Act is based on a similar Act in Oregon. Both Acts apply to people predicted to have less than six months to live. In real life, such predictions are often wrong due to mistake and because predicting how long a person will live is an inexact science; sometimes a disease process will stop on its own. 

If passed into law, the Act will apply to people with years or decades to live. This will be especially true if New Hampshire follows Oregon practice to determine life expectancies without treatment. Young adults with chronic conditions, such as insulin dependent diabetes, will be considered terminal and therefore subject to the Act.

Assisting persons, such as family members, can have an agenda, with the more obvious reasons being inheritance and life insurance. 

Dore Memo Opposing HB 1659-FN: Say "No" to Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

By Margaret Dore, Esq, MBA 

Click here to view a pdf version of this document, consisting of an index, a short memo and an appendix.

I. INTRODUCTION

I am a licensed attorney in Washington State where “death with dignity” (assisted suicide and euthanasia) is legal. Washington’s law is based on a similar law in Oregon.  Both laws are similar to the proposed Act set forth in HB 1659-FN.[1]

I am also a former Law Clerk to the Washington State Supreme Court and the Washington State Court of Appeals. I worked for a year with the United States Department of Justice and have been in private practice since 1990. I am also president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.

I have personally appeared and testified against assisted suicide and/or euthanasia in at least 20 US legislatures, including New Hampshire, and also internationally. For more information see www.margaretdore.org and www.choiceillusion.org.

Dore Testimony Against HB 1325

Dear Legislators:

I am an attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.  I am also a Democrat.  I urge you to not make Washington's mistake.

I have three points:

1.  HB 1325 is the same bill as HB 304 in the 2009 session, which was defeated in a 2 to 1 bipartisan vote

• HB 1325 is exactly the same bill as HB 304 in the 2009 session.  The only exception is the proposed effective date. 
• In 2009, when HB 304 was defeated, the Democrats controlled the House.  The vote to defeat HB 304 was 2 to 1 in a  bipartisan vote:  242 to 113.
• 100 Democrats and 142 Republicans voted to defeat the bill.  To verify, please see this link:  http://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/nh_hb_304_vote_breakdown_001.pdf

New Hampshire Defeats Assisted Suicide, Again

By Margaret Dore

On March 16, 2011, the New Hampshire House of Representatives defeated an Oregon-style physician-assisted suicide bill.  The bill, HB 513, was defeated on the House floor 234 to 99.  The bill had previously been defeated in the House Judiciary Committee 15 to 1.  The majority committee report gives these reasons for the defeat: 

[T]his bill would legalize state-sanctioned suicide for people with terminal illnesses and that this is an area where government does not belong.  People with terminal illnesses who may consider suicide do not need encouragement from the government.  The committee further believes that this bill is a recipe for elder abuse.  The committee also recognizes that doctors’ diagnoses and predictions may be incorrect; numerous cases exist where people have lived far beyond their doctor’s predictions, some of them having been cured from their terminal disease.  For these reasons, the committee strongly believes that this bill represents bad policy and practice and recommend inexpedient to legislate.

House Journal, Vol. 33, No. 28 (scroll down to HB 513) .