Press Release
True Compassion Advocates
Advocating for seriously ill people and offering positive alternatives to assisted suicide.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14th, 2011
Contacts: Eileen Geller, RN, BSN at 206.366.2715
Charles Bentz, MD, FACP
Note, to speak to Dr Bentz, please call 503-452-0915. Ask to have Dr Bentz paged.
For email enquiries, contact Carrie Herring:
Carrie@TrueCompassionAdvocates.org
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Highlights Dangers of Assisted Suicide Contagion
In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Wednesday, June 15th, True Compassion Advocates is calling for renewed attention to the incidence of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in the aftermath of legalized assisted suicide in Washington and Oregon.
Quoting from the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) press release, Eileen Geller, President of True Compassion Advocates, noted that the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day "is in support of the United Nations International Plan of Action which recognizes the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue."
Geller, a registered nurse with 25 years experience in hospice and home care, said: "The practice of doctor prescribed suicide in Washington and Oregon has led to the subtle coercion of seniors and people with disabilities. We receive phone calls every week from family members and others expressing concern about loved ones being steered into assisted suicide."
Geller went on to say: "Doctor prescribed death is marketed by suicide promoters as just another end of life 'choice' for dying people. But what choice does an elderly or ill person have if they no longer have access to adequate health care, feel is if they are a burden to family or friends, and are subtly coerced into considering state-sanctioned suicide?"
Dr. Charles Bentz, MD, FACP, President of Physicians for Compassionate Care, concurred, adding his concern that both states' assisted suicide laws "are a recipe for elder abuse." Dr Bentz, who is a practicing internal medicine physician in Washington and Oregon, has noted a rise in suicide rates in Oregon and expressed a concern about "suicide contagion." According to Dr Bentz, "Since the advent and promotion of assisted suicide in Oregon, we've seen a steady rise in our state's suicide rates across the board, especially in the elderly."
Dr. Bentz's concerns about suicide contagion are grounded in fact. In September 2010, Oregon Health Authority statistics showed the state's suicide rate to be 35 percent higher than the national average. (The statistics excluded deaths by legally-defined assisted suicide.) According to the OHA, this rate "increased significantly since 2000," three years after the state legalized assisted suicide. Washington State's suicide rate is also increasing. The Associated Press reported on December 29, 2010 that the rate of suicides in King County (which includes the Seattle area) "represented the highest rate in nine years?at 253 deaths." Dr Bentz stated, "Treating despair and despondency by intentional medical killing is dangerous. It's poor care and it leads to ever-higher suicide rates."
According to Geller, "People across the US and the world are beginning to recognize the significance of elder abuse and legalized assisted suicide as crucial public health and human rights issues."