Let’s Talk New Mexico 3/9 8am: Medical aid in dying has been legal in New Mexico since 2021. Since then, experts estimate more than 200 terminally ill New Mexicans have ended their lives. First, they waited the mandatory 48 hours before filling a prescription, then they drank a prescribed medication, and soon after drifted off to sleep before their bodies shut down.
The law hasn’t been without controversy and certainly wasn’t adopted without debate that is still ongoing in the Roundhouse and the court house. Some doctors’ groups and politicians are arguing for offering ethical exemptions for practitioners with moral objections.
On this week’s episode we’ll discuss medical aid in dying with lawmakers, advocates for end of life options and those who want doctors to have freedom to abstain from helping patients terminate their lives and we’d like to hear from you. Would you support friends or family who want to end their suffering from a terminal illness? Do you think doctors should have to explain end-of-life options to patients? Have you thought about what you would want if faced with a terminal illness? Email letstalk@kunm.org or call in live during the show.
GUESTS:
- Dr. Jeffrey Barrows, Senior VP Bioethics and Public Policy, Christian Medical & Dental Associations
- MaryKay Brady, End of Life Options New Mexico
- Dayan Hochman-Vigil, Democratic State Representative, Bernalillo County
- Dr. Jacqueline O’Niell, Doctor of Internal Medicine UNM Health
- Chris Schandevel, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Jill VonOsten, End of Life Options New Mexico
RELATED READING:
A look at End of Life Options law after first year, Las Cruces Bulletin
Christian doctors sue over New Mexico’s End-of-Life Options Act saying it violates First Amendment rights, Albuquerque Journal
One sister died in pain. The other passed away peacefully. A look at the rising use of New Mexico’s medical aid-in-dying law. Albuquerque Journal
Editorial: NM’s hard-fought aid-in-dying law should remain as is, Albuquerque Journal
