(The following is from guest contributor Barak Wolff, a senior policy analyst for the Senate Public Affairs Committee of the New Mexico Legislature and founding member of New Mexico End-of-Life Options Coalition. A New Mexico resident since 1975, Barak has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University. This article has been reposted with permission and first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal.)
Our thanks to the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board’s support of maintaining the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act in tact in their Dec. 21 editorial. For the last 18 months the law has provided an additional choice for those New Mexicans suffering with a terminal condition. Just having this option available is itself an enormous benefit and brings peace of mind to those who desire autonomy and control over their suffering. End of Life Options New Mexico (EOLONM) is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide education and support to all New Mexicans in understanding all their options at the end of life, including medical aid in dying.
Support from national partners and private donors has enabled us to deploy a cadre of more than 50 volunteers who provide public outreach/education and individual client support through our website (https://endoflifeoptionsnm.org) and our hotline (505-393-1321). These well-trained volunteers include social workers, end-of-life doulas, nurses, and compassionate seniors with invaluable experience in living and dying. In 2022, we have presented to over 60 diverse audiences and responded to more than 280 calls for information or support from patients and their loved ones and from health care providers with questions about the new law.
EOLONM maintains ongoing collaborative relationships with health care providers, agencies and terminal patients as these critical decisions are made. In our best, informal count, there have been more than 200 patients who have availed themselves of medical aid in dying since the law went into effect in June 2021. In the vast majority of these cases, the patients have been enrolled in hospice and the prescribing clinicians have been at the bedside. New Mexicans are being well-served by a balanced and thoughtful law and the compassionate clinicians/agencies involved in guiding patients through these difficult decisions.
Unfortunately, not everyone agrees that compassionate end-of-life options should be available. Recently a New Mexico physician and the Christian Medical and Dental Association filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging certain provisions of the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act. The lawsuit does not attack the right of patients to access medical aid in dying, which is the heart of the bill. Rather, it challenges provisions of the law that require providers to inform patients of the availability of medical aid in dying, and to refer those patients to a willing provider if the patient’s primary provider is unable or is unwilling for any reason.
However, I am hopeful that there is a silver lining: regardless of the outcome, the lawsuit will bring attention to the basic issue that too many New Mexicans do not understand about their right to self-determination and their ability to make informed decisions about their end-of-life care and options, which now include medical aid in dying. Too much confusion and suffering at the end of life is why the New Mexico bill was enacted. The lawsuit, which does not challenge the patient’s right to medical aid in dying, will again bring this issue to the forefront and more New Mexicans may learn about these end of life issues.
End of Life Options New Mexico will certainly be involved in the effort to defend our law, while remaining fully focused on our mission to help ensure the quality of life at the end of life for all New Mexicans.
Final Exit Network (FEN) is a network of dedicated professionals and caring, trained volunteers
who support mentally competent adults as they navigate their end-of-life journey.
Established in 2004, FEN seeks to educate qualified individuals in practical,
peaceful ways to end their lives, offer a compassionate bedside presence and defend
a person’s right to choose. For more information, go to www.finalexitnetwork.org.
Payments and donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Final Exit Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Barak’s experience illustrates the fact that getting Medical Aid in Dying laws past is not sufficient. They need to be defended and implemented to be effective. Also many suffering people are not able or qualified to to use them.