By Alessandra Suuberg, Decency LLC
Medical aid in dying (MAiD) made headlines in Massachusetts this month, given new attention in the courts and from lawmakers.
In early December, the Boston Globe reported that state lawmakers were planning to reintroduce “right-to-die” legislation in 2023. The legislation would give terminally ill patients the option to end their lives by obtaining lethal drugs.
The Globe reported that medical-aid-in-dying bills had been filed in every legislative session since voters narrowly rejected a MAiD ballot question in 2012.
Proponents today are hoping for support from Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey, in contrast with reported past opposition from Governor Charlie Baker.
They are also echoing arguments from recent debates surrounding abortion, which likewise raised questions of bodily autonomy; MAiD proponents have asserted that individuals, and not the government, should be allowed to determine when they can die, in order to relieve suffering related to a terminal illness.
Across the United States, acceptance of “physician assisted suicide“ has gained momentum over the last decade. According to the Oregon-based non-profit Compassion & Choices, ten states and the District of Columbia have authorized MAiD:
in 1997: Oregon;
in 2009, Washington and Montana;
in 2013, Vermont;
in 2016, California and Colorado;
in 2017, the District of Columbia;
in 2019, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Maine; and
in 2021, New Mexico.
Locally, the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), representing 25,000 physicians and trainees, voted to rescind its “long-standing policy of opposition” to MAiD in 2017.
In that year, MMS adopted a policy of “neutral engagement,” expressing their intent to act “as a medical and scientific resource to inform legislative efforts” related to MAiD, as long as providers are not “required to provide medical aid-in-dying that involves prescribing lethal doses of medication if it violates personally held ethical principles.” MMS also emphasized the importance of physicians “maintain[ing] their autonomy and choos[ing] what level of care to provide to their patients.”
At the beginning of 2022, commentators and groups representing various stakeholders, including disability rights advocates, voiced arguments for and against MAiD legislation in Massachusetts.
Most recently, in mid-December, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court determined that “the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights does not reach so far as to protect physician-assisted suicide.” Governor-elect Healey, currently Attorney General, whose office argued the case on behalf of the state, opined that the “Legislature is the most appropriate place to have a discussion about” MAiD.
To put the local debate in a global context: According to ProCon.org, similar to the United States, countries around the world are split on the legality of MAiD. The practice has gained momentum abroad over the last decade, with ProCon reporting steps toward legalization or expansion in all or part of Australia (2017, 2019, 2021), Austria (2020, 2021), Canada (2015, 2016), Colombia (2021), Germany (2015, 2020, 2021), Italy (2019), the Netherlands (2022), New Zealand (2021), and Spain (2021).
This month, the federal government in Canada announced that it needed more time to expand the country’s MAiD policy to include individuals with mental health conditions.
Disclaimer: The information and opinions on this site do not include legal advice or the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.