Ian McIntosh Appointed Interim Executive Director Of Not Dead Yet

Rochester, NY, January 13, 2025 – A Brief Note on behalf of The Board of Not Dead Yet:  

With the sudden passing of Not Dead Yet’s irreplaceable Founder, President and CEO, Diane Coleman , the Board of Not Dead Yet (NDY) was tasked with ensuring that her legacy continues into the next phase of this important mission, decades in the undertaking. We worked over a period of months, to select and appoint Ian McIntosh [pictured here] as Interim Executive Director. In this unprecedented and challenging time, Ian will provide leadership and direction while stewarding Not Dead Yet’s constant critical mission to oppose the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia as deadly forms of disability discrimination.

Ian joins Not Dead Yet having previously served as the Director of Disability Outreach for the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF), a leading, national, secular, non-partisan leader defending the rights of patients, people with disabilities, our elders, and the poor from the threat of legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Ex-Doctor Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Connection with Suicide of Upstate New York Woman

BY  MICHAEL HILL 

Updated 2:57 PM MDT, September3, 2024

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — An 85-year-old former doctor from Arizona charged for his role in the suicide of a woman in an upstate New York motel room pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday under an agreement that spares him from prison.

Stephen Miller, of Tucson, was arrested earlier this year on a charge of second-degree manslaughter under a provision of New York law that allows the charge for intentionally causing or aiding another person’s suicide.

Under a plea agreement, Miller was sentenced to five years of probation after his guilty plea in state court. His attorney said Miller is infirm and did not want to die in prison.

Proposed Act Has Not Advanced Past Committee

The proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act, which had sought to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State, was first introduced in the New York State Senate by former Staten Island Sen. Diane Savino, — and in the Assembly by Westchester County Assemblymember Amy Paulin, — during the 2015-2016 legislative session. 

The legislation has never advanced past the committee state in either the New York State Senate or Assembly.

"My Mum Didn't Die"

Good morning. I’m Anita Cameron, Director of Minority Outreach for Not Dead Yet, a national, grassroots disability organization opposed to medical discrimination, healthcare rationing, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide laws are dangerous because though these laws are supposed to be for people with six months or less to live, doctors are often wrong about a terminal diagnosis. In 2009, while living in Washington state, my mother was determined to be at the end stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I was told her death was imminent, that if I wanted to see her alive, I should get there in two days. She rallied, but was still quite ill, so she was placed in hospice. Her doctor said that her body had begun the process of dying.

Though she survived 6 months of hospice, her doctor convinced her that her body was still in the process of dying, and she moved home to Colorado to die.

My mum didn’t die. In fact, six weeks after returning to Colorado, she and I were arrested together in Washington, DC, fighting for disability justice. She became active in her community and lived almost 12 years!

Press Release Opposing New York Act

To view as sent, click here.

Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia, made the following statement in connection with the Medical Aid in Dying Act, now pending before the New York State Legislature. (Bills A 2694 and S 3947).

“The Medical Aid in Dying Act is a recipe for elder abuse, financial exploitation and legal murder," said Dore. "Older people with money, meaning the middle class and above, will be especially at risk to their heirs and other financial predators." Dore added, "The poor will also be at risk, but for a different reason.”

Reject Medical Aid in Dying Act (Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia)

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Click the links to view a pdf version of this document, consisting of a memorandum and appendix.

I. INTRODUCTION 

The proposed bills amend New York’s public health law by  adding a new article (28F), the Medical Aid in Dying Act.[1] The Act is based on similar laws in Oregon and Washington State.[2]

“Aid in Dying” is a euphemism for euthanasia.[3] The Act, however, purports to prohibit euthanasia. On close examination, this prohibition will be unenforceable.

If enacted, the Act will apply to people with years or decades to live. It will also facilitate financial exploitation, especially in the inheritance context. Don’t render yourself or someone you care about a sitting duck to heirs and other predators. I urge you to reject the proposed Act.

John Norton: A Cautionary Tale

Hearing Room

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

In March 2012, I watched Massachusetts resident, John Norton, testify before the Joint Judiciary Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature. A person with ALS, he had been told at age 18 or 19 that he would die in three to five years from paralysis. Below find his story, at age 74, as submitted to a Canadian court via this affidavit: 

AFFIDAVIT OF JOHN NORTON IN OPPOSITION TO

ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA

THE UNDERSIGNED, being first duly sworn on oath, STATES:

1. I live in Florence Massachusetts USA. When I was eighteen years old and in my first year of college, I was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) by the University of Iowa Medical School. ALS is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. I was told that I would get progressively worse (be paralyzed) and die in three to five years.

2. I was a very physical person. The diagnosis was devastating to me. I had played football in high school and was extremely active riding bicycles. I also performed heavy labor including road construction and farm work. I prided myself for my physical strength, especially in my hands.

3. The ALS diagnosis was confirmed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. I was eighteen or nineteen years old at the time. By then, I had twitching in both hands, which were also getting weaker. At some point, I lost the ability to grip in my hands. I became depressed and was treated for my depression. If instead, I had been told that my depression was rational and that I should take an easy way out with a doctor’s prescription and support, I would have taken that opportunity.

Regarding Debate Rematch at Jefferson Ferry Long Island: Dore v. Leven

About Margaret Dore

Dore is a fourth generation lawyer in Washington State USA. Her father was a lawyer and a Democratic politician who ultimately served as Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court. Her mother was a politician’s wife and a political activist in her own right, best known for her work to raise awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and also to help affected families and to promote medical research. Growing up, other families went camping. Dore’s family went campaigning.

Legal Analysis of Bill A. 2383-A by Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA: Reject Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide

I.  INTRODUCTION 

For the original pdf version, click the following links for a memo and appendices.  For "quick facts," click here.

I am a lawyer and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] The bill, A. 2383-A, seeks to legalize “medical aid in dying,” which is a euphemism for active euthanasia and physician assisted suicide.[2] 

The bill is based on similar statutes in Oregon and Washington State. If enacted, the bill will apply to people with years or decades to live. The bill will also create new paths of elder abuse and exploitation, especially for people with money, meaning the middle class and above. 

Other problems will include family trauma and suicide contagion. I urge you to reject this bill.

Margaret Dore Testifies Against New York Bill

Margaret Dore, testifying against Bill A.2383-A, seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State.