Fighting Against Legalized Euthanasia | West Virginia Delegate Pat McGeehan

New Polity

Euthanasia is becoming legalized across the Western world. Pat McGeehan, Delegate of West Virginia, is fighting against it. Advocates employ slogans like “death with dignity,” and appeal to compassion; but, the actual results are much different. Already, a “suicide tourism” phenomenon has begun, with people flying to states like Oregon to get legal doctor-assisted suicide. Pat tells a story of one of his constituents who, tragically, was a victim of this. Likewise, Canada’s MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) program has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people since 2016; with legislation only being passed recently to curb the amount of suicide tourism. By legalizing euthanasia, the door is open for gross misuse: the elderly who feel they are a burden to their children could be pressured into an untimely death, people with treatable illnesses could elect to end their lives, hospitals and health insurance providers could increase euthanasia recommendations to patients to decrease costs. But, Pat is fighting for the dignity of his constituents in West Virginia. Euthanasia denies the dignity of the person; Pat is working to uphold that dignity by constitutionally banning euthanasia in the state of West Virginia.