Family members hold photos of their deceased loved ones during a news conference at the Ohio Statehouse. (Photo: Morgan Trau, WEWS)
A group of Ohio Democrats has introduced a bill that would legalize medically assisted death for terminally ill patients.
Michael Oser’s doctor told him he had six months to live. He has terminal cancer, which was first diagnosed in slow 2021.
“I make this decision not out of fear, not in panic, but with dignity, with the support of my family and in peace,” Oser said. “It’s not about giving up.”
He says he’s not worried about when he’ll die – but how.
“I don’t want pain and suffering, not necessarily for me, but for my family,” Oser said.
He doesn’t want his family to go through the pain that Jim O’Neil and his daughter felt when he lost his wife Addie to cancer.
“She was looking for a way to end her suffering on her terms, sparing herself the pain and her family the trauma of watching her slowly fade away,” O’Neil said. “She didn’t have that option.”
They support a recent bill from state Rep. Eric Synenberg (D-Beachwood) that would enable “medical assistance in dying,” or physician-assisted death, often called suicide.
“It’s a decision that is made together by them, their faith, their loved ones and their medical providers,” Synenberg said. “The question before us is whether we trust Ohioans to make that decision for themselves.”
The legislation allows for terminally ill patients who live in Ohio, are at least 18 years elderly, are given a six-month prognosis by two different doctors, undergo a mental health evaluation and are competent to make health decisions and take life-ending medications.
“No individual provider or facility is required to participate in the program, and no one may be forced to act contrary to his or her personal or religious beliefs,” Synenberg said.
The bill requires informed consent, which the patient can withdraw at any time. Physicians and healthcare providers are immune from prosecution, liability, disciplinary action or other sanctions for assisting or refusing to provide medicine.
The lawmaker said insurance companies would not be able to withhold benefits if someone dies by medically assisted suicide.
Ohio became the 14th state to legalize this method of death, closely following Oregon’s law.
Social worker Jessica Rodgers opposes the bill, saying it coerces vulnerable groups because the drugs needed for assisted suicide are cheaper than full hospice care.
“Certainly none of us want to see our loved ones suffer, and we want them to have the full range of appropriate end-of-life care. It is inappropriate end-of-life care to abandon a patient with lethal drugs to overdose,” said Rodgers, coalition director of the Children Rights Action Fund.
She and groups like Ohio Right to Life and the Ohio Catholic Conference argue it lacks guardrails. Rodgers pointed out that it has been used in Colorado to treat severe anorexia, an eating disorder that may be reversible.
“It legitimizes the idea that some people have lives that are not worth living, and when that is the case, it is socially acceptable for them to take their own life,” Rodgers said.
Each of the state’s Republican leaders claims to be “pro-life.” State Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), a physician, previously helped introduce a bill that would end “death financing” in the state – ending the death penalty and banning dollars for abortion or illegal physician-assisted suicide.
“Medical aid in dying, also called assisted suicide, directly contradicts thousands of years of medical practice and religious ethics,” Huffman said, adding that it violates the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.” “Avoiding natural death is morally wrong. For the government to allow such a practice means that it is no longer trying to protect and help the less fortunate, but is actively destroying them.”
The bill will be a tough sell in the Republican-controlled Legislature, but supporters of its passage say it’s worth talking about. Co-sponsors include state Reps. Crystal Lett (D-Columbus), who works in mental health care, and Dr. Anita Somani (D-Columbus), an obstetrician-gynecologist. State Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) also signed up.
“How are you going to convey this?” I asked Synenberg, noting the GOP’s “pro-life” sentiment.
“I think Michael is pro-life too,” he replied. “No matter how beautiful and wonderful life can be and should be, hopefully for all of us, why should we end up going through the most painful and worst part of it?”
Oser said when you get infirmed, you understand what it’s like. This is no longer an “esoteric debate.”
“I lived with dignity in Ohio,” Oser said. “When my time comes, I should be able to die here with dignity.”
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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