Proposition 106: It’s Not About Death, But About Suffering

Imagine being terminally ill, with 6 months left to live, endless medications, and horrible pain–could there be any relief? If proposition 106 is passed, then yes, terminally ill Coloradans will have the opportunity to choose when their suffering ends.

Proposition 106 is modeled off of the 1997 Oregon ‘Death with Dignity Act‘, and ensures a mentally capable adult, with two separate terminal diagnosis is afforded the right to request and self-administer a medication that would end their life. This offers a patient the option to decide what is best for them, their family and their faith.

I believe this isn’t a religious or political issue but rather one of a freedom that everyone should have, to choose how they take on the most spiritual event of one’s life, death.

Colorado would be the sixth state to offer medical aid in dying, alongside Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and California. All states have had a successful history of no problems with abuse, misuse or exploitation. Local doctors were surveyed by the Colorado Medical Society and it was found that 56% percent supported the bill, 35% were opposed, and the unaccounted for were undecided.

The only worrisome action that has arisen from medically assisted death is that on the border of California and Washington, a patient was denied her cancer medications because she was terminal, but her insurance company offered to pay for the medication to end her life. I think that insurance companies shouldn’t be able to decide whether or not a person should receive medication that treats their condition or medication that would end their life.

When death isn’t the enemy, but rather suffering, it should be noted that if one doesn’t agree with ending their lives in this manner they do not have to participate.

For many terminally-ill Coloradans, it offers them a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and if not passed, it is unlikely that the bill would come around again anytime soon.