The 2015 legislative session began last week. This means “game on” for us, particularly since we anticipate another battle on assisted suicide. Now is a good time to remind Connecticut citizens — and those who would serve them in our Assembly — what tactics we could expect from opponents in the coming months.
The assisted suicide advocacy group Compassion & Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society), as we know well, has aggressively astroturfed our state with sometimes laughable results, like 30 or so form letters addressed “Dear Testimony”; mysteriously knows hearing dates before anyone else; and has a record of playing fast and loose with facts if it makes good advertising.
This, however, is a real doozy: right on the heels of a very successful, first-ever East Coast Conference Against Assisted Suicide, Iowa pro-lifer Katie Buck revealed that her name was added without her knowledge to a petition to legalize assisted suicide when she signed an online “sympathy card” for Brittany Maynard — and she could prove it. See her video here.
I recall, when I first read Time Magazine’s interview of Brittany, I also clicked a link that presented me with a pop-up option of signing this card. Given my experience, I had my guard up already, so perhaps it’s easy for me to forget that many people have never heard of C&C. Had I been in the position of one of those people I would quickly have realized that, as the screenshots clearly show, there was no statement of disclosure.
It was, as Ms. Buck says, “a nationwide thing.” How many caring Connecticut residents may have been duped into signing away protection for vulnerable people?
Whether or not this is technically legal, it certainly is a shady practice. I wonder how it would make AG Jepsen feel now (watch him testify in favor of H.B. 5326 starting at 7:21).
The deceptive petition may also have affected New Jersey, where calls and e-mails are still needed. Find more information about how you can help our friends here or visit New Jersey Alliance Against Doctor-Prescribed Suicide. They have their own petition, but they tell you what you are signing, because honesty and transparency matter!
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