Two Maine bills with very deceptive titles – L.D. 1066 (“An Act to Promote Life With Dignity”) and L.D. 347 (“An Act to Support Death With Dignity”) – are presently being debated. The people of Maine defeated a similar referendum proposal in 2000.

The likewise-deceptive summaries of each of these bills include all the feel-good words that attempt to defuse the reasons that such a measure was rejected before, but it still has the same end result: sanctioned assisted suicide.

If you read these entire bills instead of just the pacifying summaries (visit legislature.maine.gov and then select 1066 or 347), you’ll see that all these bills do is facilitate (and, by retaining the patient’s life insurance, actually encourage) suicide and legally protect anyone who assists in a suicide. This would be the first step down the “slippery slope.”

Most of the people who have attempted suicide but were saved later said they were grateful to still be alive. A landmark study found that while they had been overwhelmed at that point in their lives, things did get better, and they were glad that they had not completed their suicide. For those fewer people who did not feel this way, think of all the others who are now happy to still be alive.

This should not be a political issue. These are not Maine values, Democratic or Republican.

Please tell your Maine representatives and senators to vote against L.D. 1066 and L.D. 347.

Bruce and Judith Young

York

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