In the summer of 2016, Canada legalized euthanasia, also known as a “medical assistance in dying” (MAID) law. The current policy states only those with “a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability” is eligible to die by assisted suicide.
However, by 2027, the country plans to allow people with mental illness to choose death as well. Some groups, such as Death with Dignity, see euthanasia as “a good death.” But a ballot initiative in West Virginia is attempting to keep the practice illegal there.
Amendment 1 has recently been added to the state’s November ballot with the intention of providing “protection against medically assisted suicide.” Ultimately, “the amendment just places what’s already illegal in West Virginia into the state constitution for more security going forward,” said Pat McGeehan, a Republican state delegate in West Virginia, on an episode last week of “Washington Watch.”
If this amendment is passed, West Virginia would become the first state to amend its constitution to prohibit assisted suicide.
Even though assisted suicide is “implicitly illegal in West Virginia,” McGeehan stated, “we want to send a message against this sort of nihilistic euthanasia movement sweeping the Western world.” And to fight against it properly, “You need to have it in the state constitution, because laws are not simply prescriptive, they’re also pedagogical. They teach people.”
