Last week, in a narrow 179-176 vote, the New Hampshire House approved a bill to legalize doctor-assisted suicide. That bill, called the End of Life Options, is now in the Senate for consideration.
The bill would allow a lethal cocktail of drugs for a terminally ill person with six months or less to live.
Jason Hennessey, of New Hampshire Right to Life, says the pro-life group opposes the bill because human life and death are decided by God.
“Whether a child in her mother's womb, or an adult who just received a fatal diagnosis,” he says, “every person deserves respect, dignity and protection, and that's what we want to advocate for.”
WMUR 9, an ABC affiliate, reports bipartisan support and opposition for the bill.
"Are we a culture of life or are we a culture of death?" Rep. Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) said.
"When that time comes, and I am close to the end, with no chance of survival, when hospice and palliative care are not enough, I think I should have the option of choosing not to needlessly suffer," said Rep. Robert Lynn (R-Windham).
Hennessey says there is a reason such laws are opposed by disability rights groups, because they are concerned the law will be used against them.
“We work really hard as a society to prevent suicide, and the statistics show that when states pass policies like this, suicides go up,” Hennessey says. “So we want to keep those efforts, and build on efforts to prevent suicide, not go backwards.”
