To the editor:

In his recent guest commentary (“New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act,” March 6), Dr. Fetterman closes with Dr. Trudeau’s admonition, “To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always …” This perfectly describe palliation. Hospice and palliative care are intended to alleviate suffering and improve the patient’s experience as their life runs its natural course, not take actions intended to end that life. Good care might even involve “terminal sedation” should the patient choose that method to relieve pain even if it hastens death. This is already legal and very different from prematurely and intentionally ending life.

This isn’t a fine point, but an immensely important one: is the purpose of the treatment specifically to relieve suffering? Or is the purpose to end the patient’s life? I think Dr. Trudeau understood the difference. If a patient must worry about a provider who would offer death as a treatment, that’s a disquieting, dangerous and toxic relationship. The Montana Senate understands this and last month passed Bill 136 outlawing assisted suicide arguing “the doctor patient restoration act will restore the trust relationship between doctors and patients.”

Dr. Fetterman cites organizations that support assisted suicide. Patients’ Rights Action is one of the many organizations that do not. The website patientsrightsaction.org shares extensive lists of people harmed by mistakes, abuses and coercion in states that allow assisted suicide. In other states, the tide has turned against such legislation, as legislators and voters more fully understand the dangers inherent in it. Consequently, no additional states have legalized assisted suicide since 2021, despite the kind intensive lobbying Dr. Fetterman’s missive represents. This is why national backers are making an all-out effort targeting New York hoping the state will reverse the mounting wave of pushback.

Let’s look at what we know about end-of-life care …

We know that Assemblyman Billy Jones has advocated for dramatically increasing home care services and funding because caring for the disabled and at the end of life is expensive and sorely lacking in the North Country.

We know that insurers routinely deny coverage for expensive treatments and services, making death the cheapest option.

We know that when people are provided adequate medical care and hospice services to improve end of life care, suicidal ideation decreases.

We know that assisted suicide laws protect doctors from legal responsibility while offering no effective protections to patients.

We know that the World Health Organization warns against advocating suicide as a solution. Instead of treating the terminally ill, this legislation would normalize self-harm and taking one’s own life.

We know that stories of resilience, courage and joy at the end of life, and that media reports about hope and recovery have been shown to decrease suicidal thoughts.

Suicidal thoughts or actions (even in very young children, older adults, and people with life-threatening illness/disability) are a sign of extreme distress and should not be ignored. If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

This legislation has been introduced for 10 years. For nine years New Yorkers have said no. Now it’s time to move on and focus on improving end-of-life care.

Wayne Miller

North Bangor