The Maryland General Assembly once again failed to pass assisted suicide legislation, that would have let medical professionals end the life of the most vulnerable people, especially the elderly and disabled. The legislation could come up again in a special session in May, so we will continue to keep an eye on the legislation.

This is great news and a tremendous victory for protecting human dignity and the sanctity of human life.

Students for Life Action helped work with local pro-life groups including Maryland Right-To-Life to ensure that opposition to this legislation was loudly heard, including speaking out against it as multiple advocacy days in the capitol. Disability rights groups were also active in opposing the legislation.

Maryland resident and Students for Life Eastern Regional Director Michele Hendrickson shared this testimony:

“Anyone who has cared for loved ones in their last days knows intimately the grief that comes with such loss.  In those last moments we find ourselves pleading, bargaining, praying for miracles, wishing for supernatural ways to take away their pain.  We’d do just about anything. 

What we must never do is cheapen the value of those at the end of their lives.  Maryland cannot be on the list of societies so disconnected from human worth and beauty that we would resort to handing someone their own suicide in a bottle when life gets difficult.  The compassionate response to hurting people is loving care, not a callous death. Physician-Assisted Suicide is not only morally reprehensible impacting the perceived value of those facing terminal diagnoses, it is dangerous for Marylander’s everywhere….Healthcare, real healthcare, saves lives.  Healthcare cares for one’s health.  I strongly oppose SB701 because healthcare should continue to be procedures and medicine designed for sustaining life, not intentionally taking life.  End the suffering, not the sufferer. “

This is the second time the legislation has failed in the past two years. Last year, the legislation died when the Senate had a tie vote.

While Students for Life’s main focus is on abortion, we also strongly oppose assisted suicide. Recently, a Students for Life group held a debate and discussion on assisted suicide.

We recently reported, “Earlier this month, students and community members in Oregon attended a Physician Assisted Suicide debate at Chemeketa Community College. Group members chose to host this debate due to recent attempts by lawmakers to expand practices within the state. This “Life and Death Debate” featured Dr. William Toffler, a physician opposed to all unnatural terminations of life. The opposing Physician, Dr. Peter Reagan, is a retired family physician who argued in favor of physician-assisted suicide.”

You can read more about that here.