In this great country of ours, we have a right to control our medical decisions with our doctors. To a point. We have the right to refuse both life-saving medicine and life-saving procedures. We can refuse to put anything in our bodies, on our bodies, or near our bodies that might heal our ailments. And, we can also give this right to our loved ones when we cannot communicate our wishes. We simply have to put it in writing.
However, we do not have the right to control our pain. If we are terminally ill and in pain, we are forced to live our last days with undeniable suffering. We place our loved ones in the extremely difficult position of asking them to help us die. Our suffering overtakes our minds so completely that we care more about relieving our pain than the consequences which our loved ones would face if they actually helped us get relief.
In Arizona, we have the right to execute Medical Powers of Attorney, which allow others to make medical decisions for us when we cannot communicate. We have the right to execute Living Wills, which clarify our wishes for care in the event that we are terminally ill, in a persistent vegetative state, or are in an irreversible coma. And we have the right to execute Mental Health Powers of Attorney, which allows others to make mental health care decisions for us when we are incompetent.
But, the Arizona Legislative branch controls how much pain we must suffer if we are terminally ill. You see, they know better than we do about how much pain and suffering we are forced to endure at the end of our lives. They believe that they are protecting us from ourselves. And they see it as their religious duty to protect us from ending our undeniable godforsaken suffering. Even though we are terminally ill, going to die in the next six months, and have made an informed decision with our doctor and family, we cannot control our pain. We must lose all of our dignity and suffer unimaginably, because they refuse to allow a hearing on HB 2357.
This is a bill which, if passed, would allow any competent adult resident of Arizona to make a written request for pain medication, at least three months before the medication can be prescribed, if diagnosed with a terminal illness. These are fully informed decisions which are made by the individual requesting the relief and her doctor.
Apparently, Republicans refuse to allow this bill a hearing, the next step in making this law. There are some who wrongly believe that it is a license to kill people willy nilly. This is ignorant and self-righteous. Anyone who reads the text of the bill cannot make that statement with any legitimacy. These same people claim that these prescriptions could be abused or recommended to those who are deemed unworthy of living. Again, this shows the short-sighted nonsense anyone will say to look good in print. A PERSON MUST BE TERMINALLY ILL WITH SIX MONTHS OR LESS TO LIVE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A PRESCRIPTION UNDER THIS LAW.
I am a lifelong Republican. I do not understand what the Arizona Republican caucus is thinking about when they deem it their duty, rather than each individual’s right, to be in the business of denying relief from pain for terminally ill patient’s last days of their lives. Who do they think they are to tell Grandma that she must suffer undeniably degrading and excruciating pain at the end of Grandma’s life? That Grandma must suffer so deeply that her family and friends will be haunted for the rest of their lives by her agony and torture.
This bill deserves a hearing. Most Arizonans believe they should be able to control their pain with their doctor’s advice and family’s input at the end of their lives. This bill has been introduced annually since 2003. The Republicans refuse to allow a hearing. And they wonder why the voters refuse to give them a pay raise. They should listen to the will of the people rather than certain religious “leaders.” This country was built on individual freedoms and the right to be left alone. Apparently elected Arizona Republican’s would rather have the government be involved in everyday medical decisions which should be left to doctors and patients, because they are protecting us from ourselves.
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