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| 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.