CURRENT STATUS OF SB1129: On March 7, SB 1129 passed the Senate 22-3. It is now in the House. We just got word that it is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Health this Thursday, March 23, at 8:30 a.m. A vote is expected. Click here to read the bill, note its sponsors, and track its status.
SB1129, Death with Dignity, “Establishes a death with dignity act under which a terminally ill adult resident may obtain a prescription for medication to end the patient’s life.”
The Sixth Commandment: “Thou shalt not murder,” (Exodus 20:13).
Please contact the members of the House Committee on Health today!
They can call it “death with dignity,” “medical aid in dying,” or “informed health care decision,” but suicide is still suicide, and murder is still murder — no matter how it’s spun!
Take Action: Contact each member of the House Committee on Health and ask them to vote “NO” on SB1129. Email each member, and then give them a call. Call and leave a message after hours if that works best for you. Be sure to let them know that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Hawaii.
- Della Au Belatti, Chair: repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-9425
- Bert Kobayashi, Vice Chair: repkobayashi@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-6310
- Sharon E. Har: rephar@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-8504
- Dee Morikawa: repmorikawa@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-6280
- Marcus R. Oshiro: reposhiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-6700
- Chris Todd: reptodd@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-8480
- Andrea P.L.: Tupola reptupola@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 586-8465
Please Pray: Please pray that the eyes of these committee members are opened to the reality of this legislation. Pray SB1129 fails.
CURRENT STATUS OF HB150, HB201 & HB550: They were referred to the House Committee on Health as well as the House Committee on Judiciary in January and, as of yet, there has been no action. Click on each bill above to read it, note its sponsors, and track its status. The official description of each can be found at the end of this e-alert.
Take Action: If you haven’t already taken action based on our February 14 e-alert, please do so now. Contact the members of each committee and ask them to vote “NO” on HB150, HB201, and HB550. Call and leave a message after hours if that works best for you. Be sure to let them know that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Hawaii. The House Committee on Heath members are, of course, listed above. Here are the members of the House Committee on Judiciary:
- Scott Y. Nishimoto: repnishimoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-8515
- Joy A. San Buenaventura, Vice Chair: repsanbuenaventura@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-6530
- Della Au Belatti, Chair: repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-9425
- Tom Brower: repbrower@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-8520
- Aaron Ling Johanson: repjohanson@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-9470
- Chris Lee: replee@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-9450
- Dee Morikawa: repmorikawa@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-6280
- Mark M. Nakashima: repnakashima@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-6680
- Marcus R. Oshiro: repmoshiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-6700
- Bob McDermott: repmcdermott@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-9730
- Cynthia Thielen: repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov / 808-586-6480
Please Pray: Please pray that the eyes of these committee members are opened to the reality of this legislation. Pray that these bills will remain dead through the end of the 2017 state legislative session.
Here are just some of the many concerns we continue to have about physician-assisted suicide:
- There are not sufficient safeguards against coercion and elder abuse. At least one-in-ten elderly people is the victim of domestic abuse, which is difficult for a health care provider to identify. Because any doctor can write a lethal prescription, an abuser can “doctor shop” until they find a provider willing to assist them in killing their victim.
- Oregon, the first state to legalize assisted suicide, provides the most complete data available on the practice of assisted suicide in the United States. Oregon reports that the dominant reasons motivating patients to choose assisted suicide have nothing to do with pain management. The primary concerns center around having a disability: losing autonomy (92%), being less able to engage in activities making life enjoyable (90%), and losing dignity (79%). Fear of inadequate pain control is one of patients’ least cited reasons.
- Modern medicine has made significant advances in pain control. Doctors now have a range of options to treat pain in terminally ill patients, including even palliative sedation as a last resort.
Though there are many sound academic reasons to oppose physician-assisted suicide, as believers, the most important reason is because God, and God alone, is the author of life. We cannot take on the role of God and take life based on our inconsistent judgment.
The Official Description of HB150, HB201 & HB550:
- HB150 – End of Life Option Act, “Establishes a person’s ability to choose the End of Life Option when afflicted with a terminal illness; provides safeguards for the affected person; and repeals penalties for participating in the End of Life Option Act.”
- HB201 – Death with Dignity; Aid in Dying; Patient Choice; Physicians, “Allows a terminally ill adult with the capacity to make an informed healthcare decision to request a prescription for aid in dying medication from their attending physician to facilitate a peaceful death. Ensures that physicians who assist patients in obtaining aid in dying medication are not subject to civil or criminal liability.”
- HB550 – Death with Dignity, “Authorizes terminally ill adults seeking to end their life to request lethal doses of medication from medical and osteopathic physicians.”
We don’t understand why God allows pain and suffering, but we know God is good; God is love, and His ways are higher than ours. God has appointed a time for each of us to be born and to die. He is with us in all things and has a purpose for every situation that comes our way. God has a plan for each and every one of us.
Please do all you can to support God’s gift to us: life.
Barbara Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
P.O. Box 10732
Hilo, HI 96721
director@hawaii.cwfa.org
hi.cwfa.org
808-965-9834
Wilma Youtz
Legislative Liaison
CWA of Hawaii
hawaii.cwa.liaison@gmail.com