CT Could Legalize Doctor-Assisted Suicide

With the subject's permission, one hopes

HARTFORD -- The General Assembly is considering the difficult question of whether a dying person should be allowed to legally take his or her own life with the help of a doctor.

The Legislature's Public Health Committee on Wednesday listened to hours of testimony -- mostly in opposition -- to a bill that would allow physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

"This is a ticket to murder," said John Kelly, director of Second Thoughts, a Massachusetts group that last year helped defeat a similar law in the Bay State.

"This amounts to a government recommendation that sometimes death is the best answer. Doctors make mistakes. Under this bill, a diagnosis can become deadly," Kelly said.

Connecticut's bill contains strict rules.