Why is I-1000 so troubling to people with loved ones in nursing home care?
A. Family members do not need to be notified when a loved one is planning to end her own life. The initiative also requires that doctors falsify the death certificate so the cause of death would be listed on the death certificate as the terminal disease – not the assisted suicide prescription. [Section 4,(1)(ii)(B)(2).] As a result, a family might visit a relative one week and the next week find the person deceased, with no explanation of the real cause. Q. Why do disability organizations and so many leaders in the disability community oppose this law? A. Society often dismisses the value and quality of the lives of people with disabilities, making many disabled people vulnerable to pressure and manipulation. People with new disabilities often feel despondent and even suicidal. But over time, they typically find satisfaction in their lives. Working through this initial despair usually takes far longer than the brief two-week waiting period in I-1000. In that critical early stage, many
