Hawaii Assisted Suicide Measure Reaches Senate

By Jenny Nolan, NRLC Department of Medical Ethics

An Oregon-fashioned bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide has come to a tentative halt in the Hawaii Senate Committee on Health and Human Services after a seemingly inexorable journey through the state legislature. The bill had been championed by outgoing Governor Ben Cayetano (D) and passed the House 30-20. However, the Senate committee, chaired by pro-life Sen. David Matsuura, has deferred a vote on the so-called "Death With Dignity Act" indefinitely.

Its deferral is far from a permanent thing, however. A variety of possible procedural moves by a small group of senators could still pull it to the floor, or it could be added to another bill in conference committee. Any such move would be unusual, but is certainly within the realm of the possible for this act, which has had as many comebacks as a B-movie villain.

The following is an abbreviated overview of an incredibly complex series of events. Mere words can hardly convey the electricity that filled the air.

After passing the House of Representatives March 7, the "Death With Dignity" Act was referred to the Senate Health Committee. On the motion of Matsuura, a Democrat from the "Big Island" of Hawaii, the bill was amended by deleting the assisted suicide provision and replacing it with language intended to foster positive alternatives to the crises many terminally ill people face.

On March 20, Matsuura chaired an emotionally charged hearing on the revised bill, known as HB 2487 SD 1. Euthanasia advocates hoped and pro-lifers feared that, however the bill got out of committee, it would be amended again during the legislative process with the assisted suicide section written in once more.

While the March 20 hearing was technically a hearing on a bill that had nothing to do with assisted suicide, the issue became the focal point of the afternoon. The conference room magnetized people, who soon overstuffed it, sitting and standing on every clear scrap of floor. News camera tripods competed with the tangle of people for space to cover the proceedings.

In his opening remarks on the "Death With Dignity" Act, Senator Matsuura gestured to a table heaped with copies of written testimony and two piles of correspondence labeled "For" and " Against" assisted suicide. The "Against" stack was significantly higher than the "For," a visible sign of the pro-life movement's grassroots strength.

Hawaii's medical organizations united in their opposition to physician-assisted suicide. Representatives from the Hawaii Medical Association, the Hawaii Nurses Association, Hospice Hawaii, and the Health Care Association of Hawaii took their places at the microphone.

Two individuals with disabilities warned against an ethic that views some lives as not worth living. They were succeeded by representatives of the Hawaii Right to Life Committee, the Hawaii Family Forum, the Respect Life Office of the Diocese of Honolulu, and the Hawaii Catholic Conference, all of whom planted themselves firmly against physician-assisted suicide.

Those who testified in favor of grafting assisted suicide back into the bill were affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and the Hemlock Society.

Testifying before the Hawaii Health Committee is a relatively informal affair and several individuals seated themselves at the microphone to share their thoughts or tell the stories of their loved ones, some of whom had died peaceful deaths, and others in pain.

Two days later the Health Committee reconvened for decision- making (voting) and Chairman Matsuura explained its members' decision to defer the bill indefinitely. Many people, including key members of medical associations, were concerned that the language of the positive alternatives in the revised bill would be misinterpreted, causing damage to the very citizens it attempted to help.

In addition, Matsuura said that the volume of correspondence he'd received on the assisted suicide issue revealed deep divisions among Hawaiians about how to manage complex end-of-life issues. In light of those two factors, he said the committee members did not feel that the bill should be voted out of committee at all.

Advocates on both sides of the assisted suicide issue have vowed not to give up this year. If the pro-euthanasia groups don't succeed in this session they will surely be back next time.

The strategy for pro-life victory is the same one that has paid off in state after state against assisted suicide legislation: hard work at the grassroots level. Any senator knows that even the most persuasive lobbyist only gets to cast one vote. But when there are scores of people jingling the phone lines and letters drifting into the office, elected officials tend to pay attention.