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THE RESISTANCE

January 2000

News and Information from Not Dead Yet
- a national disability rights movement opposing legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia -

"People with disabilities have an opportunity to lead society from the isolation and despair of today into a recognition of belonging and community for all. The idea that people with disabilities are not worthy of society's acceptance or resources is not new. We see this form of hatred throughout history, often masked as benign. But for the first time in history, people with disabilities are organizing our community to fight back, to demand the equal protection of the law. Our expression of this demand put Jack Kevorkian in jail, but the greater fight lies ahead in the next millenium." Diane Coleman, 1999

1999 EVENTS

• In March, Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder and unauthorized delivery of a controlled substance in the death of Thomas Youk, a man with ALS whose death had been broadcast on 60 Minutes. NDY members were present throughout the trial.

• In April, Jack Kevorkian was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for those crimes. NDY members held an all-night vigil outside the court.

• In April, NDY activists from New York City joined a rally protesting the appointment of Peter Singer to Princeton University. Disability activists Marca Bristo, Nadina LaSpina, Cal Montgomery, and Mary Jane Owen spoke at the rally, which was organized by Princeton Students Against Infanticide.

• In May, the nation heard about Georgette Smith, a Florida woman who died when, 72 days after she had become quadriplegic and begun using a ventilator, she had the ventilator disconnected. Smith had been shot by her mother, Shirley Egan, after Egan overheard Smith talking about putting her in a nursing home. NDY was quoted often in the national TV and print coverage.

• In August, NDY assisted activists at the Center for Disability Rights, in Rochester, NY, as they struggled to save the life of Bill White. White, a quadriplegic who used a ventilator and had been a patient at Strong Memorial Hospital for 32 years, had attempted suicide several times by spitting out his ventilator mouthpiece, but always backed down. This time, he asked for morphine to help him go through with it. White's death was attributed to his 1967 injury.

• In September, 250 activists, including 200 from NDY and other disability groups, turned out for Peter Singer's first day of class to protest Princeton's recruitment and retention of a teacher who violates its own "hate speech" policy. 14 NDY activists were arrested outside the administration building.

IMPORTANT NATIONAL LEGISLATION:

We hope you will consider tapping into your networks and encouraging activists and advocates to work to support passage of the bill. For those of you who work in states without a lot of euthanasia-movement activity, this is an important national issue on which your organizations can make a difference.

The Pain Relief Promotion Act basically does two things. It says that pain management, even if that pain management increases the risk of death or speeds up the process of death, is a legitimate medical use of controlled substances. But assisted suicide is not. It also sets aside a significant sum of money to educate health professionals in pain management.

The Act is viewed by many as a partisan effort; Democratic Senators in particular need to hear that their constituents support it. Many people, including reporters, believe the Act would expand the powers of the Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate and punish doctors. That's false. It would ensure that a federal law which already exists - the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would be enforced uniformly throughout the United States. The Act was introduced after Attorney General Reno ruled that the CSA permitted assisted suicide in Oregon; it would keep the federal government out of assisted suicide. Federal funds can not be used for assisted suicide. Federal licenses shouldn't be either.

Many people, including reporters, believe the Act would overturn the Oregon assisted suicide law. That's false. It would allow Oregon doctors to prescribe drugs which are not federally controlled substances in performing assisted suicides. Only controlled substances could not be used. Many people, including reporters, also believe that assisted suicide is about choice and freedom. That's false. NDY has worked to counter the belief that assisted suicide is a "right" and a "freedom" in the context of discrimination and prejudice which makes it hard for many people with disabilities to live good lives.

For more information about the Pain Relief Promotion Act and what you can do, give Cal Montgomery a call at NDY. Thanks!

CCD REGISTERS ITS OPINION ON SINGER APPONITMENT

Dear Dr. Shapiro,
As Chairman of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, I write to you in strong protest of Princeton University's grant of tenure to Peter Singer. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is composed of 100 national organizations working in our nation's capital and throughout the country to enhance and protect the civil rights and quality of life of our nation's 54 million Americans with disabilities. CCD organizations represent consumers and their families, advocacy groups, service providers and professionals. Working in coalition for a quarter century, CCD has fostered true independence, integration and inclusion in the community for all people with disabilities.

CCD joins Not Dead Yet, Justice For All and many other groups in conveying our view that the dangerous and barbaric views of Peter Singer regarding infants with disabilities has absolutely no place in American society or academia. Taken in or out of context, Dr. Singer's position and writings regarding the value of lives of persons with disabilities are outrageous. They are bigoted, hateful and fly in the face of everything our society and our national policy seeks for our constituency.

The organizations we represent have thousands of stories of where ethicists, physicians and others have attempted to influence families to reject their offspring with disabilities on the basis that those lives weren't worth living or would present difficult burdens for these families. Each of these stories is punctuated by lives of achievement and happiness completely opposite to the prediction of the "experts". Yet in this modern time with amazing medical and rehabilitation advances, with vital services and supports available to individuals and their families and with more societal acceptance than ever, Dr. Singer chooses and preaches death and darkness.

Our nation and, presumably, Princeton University support non-discrimination. Your policies surely protect gender, race, and sexual preference from discriminatory practices. On the basis of academic freedom, disability, however, is fair game. What possible pride can Princeton University take in turning out students influenced by and/or wed to Dr. Singer's heinous views on disability?

Shame on Princeton University. Shame on anyone and everyone at Princeton University who condones the continued presence of Peter Singer on its campus and on its faculty. How long will it take for Princeton University, using the vernacular, to "get it" regarding Peter Singer? Fifty-four million Americans, their families and supporters await your reply.

Sincerely,

Paul Marchand
Chairman

HELP WANTED

If you don't live in one of these "key states" but still want to be involved, please let us know - there's always work to be done! As always, you can reach us at:
Not Dead Yet
7521 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130
(708) 209 - 1500 (Voice)
(708) 209 - 1826 (TTY)
(708) 209 - 1735 (Fax)
NDYet@aol.com (E-mail)

Alaska: Alaska's newly-founded NDY chapter is busy with a court case pushed by Compassion in Dying, a pro-assisted suicide group. Does the Alaska Constitution guarantee a right to assisted suicide?

California: Dion Aroner, usually a friend of the disability community, has introduced a bill to legalize assisted suicide. At the same time, the Robert Wendland case - a case about when guardians can remove food and water from people judged incompetent - is moving forward. Oral argument is expected soon.

Colorado: The home of Hemlock, Colorado offers plenty of opportunities to track developing issues.

Illinois: Illinois activists are still struggling with the Henry Taylor case. Taylor was a 69-year-old African-American man whose doctor injected him with potassium chloride - a lethal dose by a lethal method - as "pain control" and is now contesting the suspension of his medical license.

Maine: The Hemlock Society is pouring money into a referendum on assisted suicide.

Michigan: In the home state of Jack Kevorkian and Georges Reding (see New Mexico), assisted suicide and euthanasia are still hot topics.

New Hampshire: The legislature is considering a bill to legalize assisted suicide for people who have chronic conditions which would eventually shorten their lives.

New Jersey: Peter Singer is still at Princeton, and the trustees - including Presidential candidate Bill Bradley - still need our attention.

New Mexico: If Jack Kevorkian's fugitive student, Georges Reding, ever appears to stand trial in the death of a New Mexico woman with Multiple Sclerosis, we will need people to call for justice.

New York: Activists "livin' in the land o' Quill" are looking for support.

Oregon: In the only state where assisted suicide is legal, we need to call attention to the problems that are already evident.

"I NEED MORE INFORMATION!"
Please contact me with information about:
__ Not Dead Yet in general
__ Peter Singer and Princeton University
__ Pain Relief Promotion Act
__ The problems with proposed legislation
__ How I can help
__ Not Dead Yet merchandise
__ Other:

The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org 

MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency

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