Early voting has begun and many early voters may have been surprised to see a Constitutional Amendment banning assisted suicide on the ballot. Surprised for two reasons1)While the amendment was passed during the regular session last winter, it flew under the radar and received absolutely no attention or discussion until the last week 2) The amendment bans assisted suicide which is already banned statutorily in West Virginia. Why the need to take the additional step. And, why to add a last sentence which says nothing in the ban prevents capital punishment in West Virginia. Again, there is no need for the sentence. West Virginia has not permitted executions since 1965.
House and Senate members have an awesome responsibility to address the many items that come before them in the regular session that it seems frivolous to duplicate the efforts while not addressing the pressing problems of the current session. Del. Pat McGeehan is one of the sponsors of the bill and having the language imbedded in our Constitution would show that West Virginia is very serious about the ban and the onorous ramifications if a member of your health care team or family helps you end your life.
Like abortion, assisted suicide is a very personnel issue. Who knows what any one of us would do if a loved one begged us to take them out of their pain. I was fortunate that when Bill died at home, we had not reached that point. But afraid that it might, I agonized what I would do if it came to that decision.
Right or wrong, the decision to ban assisted suicide has already been made and is in our statute. There is absolutely no need to take further action.
