For Jessica Rodgers, the fight against assisted suicide is personal.
Rodgers, a former social worker, was a caregiver for her terminally ill mother some years ago. They lived in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. She said she saw firsthand “the deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship and the trust that you have in your physician when there’s a government policy like this in place.”
That got her involved professionally battling legislation across the United States that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, including in Delaware. Rodgers visited Legislative Hall in Dover on March 11 to speak to legislators about House Bill 140, which would legalize medical aid in dying in the First State.
Rodgers is the coalitions director for the Patients Rights Action Fund, an organization dedicated to fighting physician-assisted suicide. She said in a telephone interview from New York that she has been involved with the issue in Delaware and Maryland.
HB 140 passed both houses of Delaware’s General Assembly last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. John Carney. It was introduced again this year, but there are a few new legislators who could affect the fate of the bill, and a new governor, Matt Meyer, who has voiced support for the bill.
The Delaware House of Representatives late March 18 narrowly passed HB140, again sending the physician-assisted suicide bill to the state senate.
Rodgers said she spoke to several legislators in Dover.
“Anyone that we could grab, just, ‘Hey, will you hear this story listen to what the impact is on real people?’” she said. “I hope that it went well. I hope that they listened. It may not have been an hour-long meeting, but it doesn’t take an hour to see the real-world impact and know that these bills are dangerous.”
Rodgers said it’s been four years since any state enacted a law similar to HB 140, but not for lack of trying. Each year, she said, 15 to 20 states introduce legislation, but she said people have significant concerns “about the impacts on their vulnerable constituents.”
Rodgers brought a California woman, Stephanie Packer, to Dover with her. Packer was diagnosed with a terminal illness but has lived several years since. Her story, Rodgers said, shows the impact of the availability of assisted suicide on people who would not normally consider it, but many who do fear becoming a financial liability on their families.
She added that the more people learn about the issue and the legislation, the more they tend to oppose it. She called the safeguards included in the bill “smokescreens” and said it includes conditions that are not truly terminal. In Oregon, she said, most of the people considering ending their own lives do not mention pain as a reason for seeking it out, but they don’t want to be a burden to their families.
“The more people learn about the realities of these laws and how they impact our most vulnerable neighbors, the more they tend to oppose,” Rodgers said.
While HB 140 awaits action in Delaware’s senate, she urged people to call their legislators and ask five friends to do so as well. More information about the bill is available at www.stophb140.com.
Rodgers said she is not a good prognosticator, so she wouldn’t want to predict the fate of the bill in the coming months.
“We’ll continue to do the work of educating and trusting that as the legislators learn how dangerous this is, they’ll make the right decision for Delaware and vote no.”
