Thursday, June 1, 2017

Minnesota: An Open Letter to Mitchell Hamline School of Law: "Losing Your Freedom Is Like Losing Your Hair"

Mitchell Hamline Panel, 04 27 17
In April, I was honored to be one of four speakers at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. The event was a panel discussion regarding legislation seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in Minnesota.  

I arrived at the event with a legal analysis and other materials addressing problems with the legislation. For example and contrary to backers’ claims, patient voluntariness is not assured. 

I started to hand out my materials. Proponents of the legislation, however, objected and a law student organizer backed them up to prevent distribution. 

Friday, April 28, 2017

Minnesota: Margaret Dore Beats the Odds

Hamline Mitchell panel
Dore at left
Click here to watch video
With the odds stack against her, Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA did an admirable job educating attendee's at an "End of Life Options Discussion Panel" sponsored by Hamline Mitchell Law School's Health Law Society in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Thursday evening. [4/27/17]

The panel was comprised of three supporters of the Minnesota End of Life Options Act, including Thaddeus Pope, and Ms. Dore, who alone stood to expose the language of the bill and the reality of what that language has allowed in Washington State, where Ms. Dore is an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion. Not only was she outnumbered 3 to one on the panel, but pro-assisted death representatives had a fit when Ms. Dore attempted to share documentation for her talk and blocked her from handing it out.

Ms. Dore hammered home points that are often glossed over. When panel members insisted that this bill pertained to "terminal patients with less than 6 months to live," Ms. Dore shared a real encounter she had. "Doctors can be wrong about life expectancy, sometimes way wrong," said Dore. "This is due to actual mistakes and the fact that predicting life expectancy is not an exact science. A few years ago, I was met at the airport by a man who at age 18 had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and given 3 to 5 years to live, at which time he was to die by paralysis. His diagnosis had been confirmed by the Mayo Clinic. When he met me at the airport, he was 74 years old. The disease progression had stopped on its own."

She also shared, "The Act is stacked against the patient and a recipe for elder abuse." Dore elaborated, "The patient's heir, who will financially benefit from the patient's death, is allowed to actively participate in requesting the lethal dose. After that, no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know?"

"But, it gets worse," said Dore, "the death certificate is required to list a medical condition as the cause of death, which prevents prosecution." Dore explained, "The official cause of death is a medical condition (not murder) as a matter of law. For perpetrators, the death certificate is a 'stay out of jail free card.'"

Thank you to Ms. Dore for her tireless fight to stop assisted suicide.

* * * 

Ann Olson

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

South Africa: Dore Evidence Prevails

South Africa
Dear supporters of Margaret Dore and Choice is an Illusion

Today 6 December 2016, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned the lower courts authorisatin of euthanasia decision. The euthanasia side filed an affidavit from an Oregon pro-assisted suicide doctor activist arguing how well assisted suicide was being implemented in Oregon. Margaret Dore filed an affidavit rebutting these claims.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Dore Meets With Australian Delegation

Margaret Dore speaking to
the Delegation
On April 7, 2016, Margaret Dore, attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, accompanied by her assistant, Brenda Ray, met with a five member delegation from the Legal and Social Issues Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Australia.

The topic was assisted suicide and euthanasia. The place was the Picnic House Restaurant in Portland Oregon where Dore spoke over lunch in opposition to legalization.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Maryland: Powerful Testimony by Elder Law Attorney Margaret Dore

Assisted Suicide Proponents Wilt After Tough Questioning by Committee

From Stop Assisted Suicide Maryland

(Annopolis MD) Proponents of physician-assisted suicide struggled to answer the tough questions thrown at them at yesterday’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing on SB 418. The Committee met late into the night with Senators raising significant concerns with the bill and its lack of protections.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Compassion & Choices has a New Campaign to Reduce Patient Choice: Be Careful What you Sign.

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Last week, the deceptively named euthanasia promotion group, Compassion & Choices (C & C), announced a new campaign to reduce patient choice in healthcare.*

C & C wants to increase the enforceability of health care directives, but only for those that refuse treatment. C & C wants a health care provider who doesn't follow the directive, to not get paid. The problem is that you could get stuck with what you thought that you wanted and not be allowed to change your mind. Consider this example:

You signed a health care directive stating that you do not want "artificially-provided" food and drink, for example, via an IV, nasal tube or stomach tube.

You're in an accident, which renders you unable to personally direct your health care and unable to eat and drink. The healthcare facility and the family member in charge of your care want to give you food and water through "artificial" means. The facility thinks that you will need it for a short time and then recover.

But, if the healthcare facility does this under C & C's proposal, it will not get paid.

A few years ago, the owner of an elder care facility told me about one of its residents. He was an older gentleman who was a slow eater, but he had never choked or aspirated on his food. His doctor arranged for a swallow test, which he failed. To prevent aspiration, the doctor said "Nothing by mouth." The man had previously signed a health care directive saying that he would not want artificially provided food or water. So this meant nothing at all. Moreover, the man's son sided with the doctor.

Over the next few days, the man said that he was hungry and that he wanted something to eat, until he got too weak to say anything at all.

He was not allowed to change his mind and it was a horrible awful death.

So much for compassion and choice.

Be careful what you sign.

Advance directives are dangerous when used to refuse treatment or care. It's better to leave that up to your trusted agent to make decisions in the moment.  Margaret Dore is an attorney in Washington State and President of Choice is an Illusion

* C & C's new campaign "to put a stop to unwanted medical treatment."

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Dore Letter to New Jersey Assembly

Dear Legislators:

I am attorney in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.  I am writing to urge you to not make our mistake.  Please vote "No" on A2270.

I have prepared an in-depth legal/policy analysis describing some of the problems with A2270, which can be viewed at the links set forth below. (or click here).

I make three points: 

1.  The bill, A2270, is titled "Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act."  "Aid in Dying" is a euphemism for assisted suicide and euthanasia.  The title is, regardless, deceptive because it implies that A2270 is limited to people who are dying, which is untrue. For example, A2270, if enacted, will apply to people with chronic conditions who otherwise have years, even decades, to live.  See memo, pp. 4-7.  Once enacted, there will be pressure to expand to a broader group of people.  See memo, pp. 7-8. 

2. The bill is a recipe for abuse with the most obvious reason being a complete lack of oversight when the lethal dose is administered.  See memo, pp. 9-16. 

3. The bill lacks transparency and accountability.  See memo., pp. 17-19. 

The last part of the memo is a discussion of the "Oregon and Washington Experience," with supporting documentation attached.  

Here is a link to the memo and attachments in one document: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/nj-no-on-a2270-no-assisted-suicide-11-12-14.pdf

Or, if you like, a link to the memo alone:  https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/nj-no-on-a2270-memo-only-11-12-14.pdf and a link to the attachments:  
https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/nj-no-on-a2270-attachments-pnly-11-12-14.pdf

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA, President
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, P.S.
Choice is an Illusion, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation
www.choiceillusion.org
www.margaretdore.com
1001 4th Avenue, 44th Floor
Seattle, WA 98154 
206 389 1754 main reception
206 389 1562 direct line