MCIL News Release Archive
				National ADAPT
				M C I L
				Tennessee ADAPT
				Not Dead Yet!
				B F M S

NEWS RELEASE

June 26, 1997

Not Dead Yet activists from around the country cautiously celebrated the Supreme Court ruling handed down today which states there is no constitutional right to physician assisted suicide.

Not Dead Yet is a national organization of people with disabilities who oppose the legalization of physician assisted suicide, because it singles out people with disabilities and health impairments for assistance to die. Legalizing physician assisted suicide, according to Not Dead Yet, will create a double standard, based on health status, for how society responds to a person's expression of a desire to die. The group says that this is very dangerous, particularly in an environment where health care options are limited by managed care policies and budget cuts.

"The good news is that the Supreme Court has upheld state bans of physician assisted suicide in Washington and New York," said Diane Coleman, Not Dead Yet organizer. "The bad news is that other states may well do the opposite -- that is, legalize the practice -- and we'll have to fight this battle state by state."

Not Dead Yet filed a Friend of the Court brief opposing the legalization of physician assisted suicide, and held a rally in front of the Supreme Court on January 8 which drew over 500 disability rights activists. In its brief, Not Dead Yet argues that legalizing physician assisted suicide would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because assisted suicide would only be legal for persons with disabilities and health impairments. "If it is simply an issue of autonomy, why not extend it to anyone who asks?" Coleman said. "Society would never accept that for nondisabled or healthy people -- but it's somehow acceptable for people who are socially devalued."

Steve Gold, an attorney for Not Dead Yet, stated, "Today, a legal blow, but not a lethal blow, was dealt to the discriminatory practice of inducing death for those with disabilities and health conditions. But unfortunately, this issue is not dead yet! We'll have to keep fighting to provide opportunities to live, rather than the right to be killed."

Local, Memphis:

Tim Wheat
(901) 726-6404 * (901) 726-6521 fax
1633 Madison Avenue  - Memphis TN 38104

National:

Steve Drake
Rochester, NY.

Diane Coleman
(708) 209-1500 ext. 11
7521 Madison St., - Forest Park, IL 60130

Lucy Gwin
Editor of Mouth
(716) 244-6599

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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