The Montana Physician Imprisonment Act (HB284) is a senseless, cruel bill that would result in the extension of pain and suffering of countless citizens. It would steal from a terminally ill person the right to choose to peacefully end their own suffering. This is an overzealous overreach of government into the personal lives of people. It strips the right of a dying citizen to elect a timely death without needless pain, outlawing a reasonable course of action that we would surely provide to a dying dog. The U.S. constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment to even the most heinous of criminals; yet, we would sentence grandma to unnecessary suffering for the rest of her life.
This bill would legislate extended physical distress compounded with incredible financial stress as a dying patient watches his life savings dwindle by hundreds of dollars every day he suffers, knowing he will no longer have a nest egg to leave behind to sustain his family. And what happens when that nest egg is completely depleted? Then the taxpayer is burdened with the cost and responsibility of prolonging the torture of this poor dying person.
These health care choices must continue to be governed by the patient’s final wishes and the decision of their doctor. We all will die. Do not take away the basic right of personal choice. It may be your spouse, your child, or even yourself that you are condemning to a needlessly cruel and painfully enduring end to an otherwise beautiful life.
Link Neimark
Whitefish