Dear friends,

For a while, it looked like I was in serious trouble.

I’m an old-school family physician in Missoula, Montana, just like my dad before me. I had written aid-in-dying prescriptions for three patients since the Montana Supreme Court’s Baxter decision made it legal to do so in 2009.

But now, the Baxter decision was about to be upended by state legislators. Working with anti-choice zealots, they proposed a bill to put doctors in jail for up to ten years for writing those legal prescriptions.

Compassion & Choices, which spearheaded Baxter and made physician aid in dying possible for my patients, was still on the scene—protecting the decision from all manner of legislative and activist mischief. Thankfully, they were ready to defeat this latest attack.

They ran a smart grassroots campaign to alert and mobilize the majority of Montanans who agree that people at the end of life have a right to die with dignity. Guess what? The people spoke and the legislators listened. The bill was defeated with votes from across the political spectrum.

Plenty of longtime citizen advocates were getting involved, too, and I wanted to join them. But I worried that speaking out as a physician would be a lonely endeavor. That turned out to be far from true.

Compassion & Choices gave me moral and strategic support every step of the way as I began to take a public position against what they dubbed the “Doctor Imprisonment Act” and disclosed my choice to help terminally ill patients who asked to end their lives with dignity. They helped me share my experience through state and national media, which ignited an outpouring of support from throughout my community.

I am impressed. In fact, I would share a foxhole with anyone from Compassion & Choices again—they will watch your back and not run from a fight. I’m determined to rally others to join us.

While we won this particular battle in Montana, defeating the “Doctor Imprisonment Act” on April 15, opponents will try again—in Montana and other states where the right to aid in dying is tenuous or nonexistent.

Your gift today will help Compassion & Choices protect and expand the rights of patients to control their own medical treatment at life’s end.

My personal experience gave me a unique perspective. The patients I wrote prescriptions for valued their right to die with dignity. All were of sound mind and spirit. They clearly wanted to live, but not in the miserable condition their terminal disease dictated.

But what motivated me to defend Montana’s law was a prescription I didn’t write. When Baxter was still new, a dying patient with advanced ALS asked me for aid-in-dying medication, and I hesitated. He was a wealthy, self-made man who had been incredibly strong in health, but whose illness had reduced him to skin and bones.

He scolded me and called me a coward. Several weeks later, he had stockpiled enough pain medication to hasten his own death by putting it in his feeding tube.

After he died, I wondered, “What kind of man or doctor am I? Will I sit idly by and watch a proud man suffer, or will I be brave and help people at the end of life?” I spent many sleepless nights pondering this question.

Shortly after that, when a patient with terminal esophageal cancer asked me to write a prescription, I said yes. When his condition worsened and his pain became unrelenting, he prepared the medication, opened a bottle of Guinness and asked those of us in attendance—me, his sister, his hospice team—to join him in a toast.

He thanked me for having the courage to write this prescription and said if there was anything about his case that could help make aid in dying available to more people, I should use it. I am proud I had the courage to do the right thing for him and others. And I am committed to fulfill his dying wish to make aid in dying a legal option for more patients.

During this campaign, I learned a lot about Compassion & Choices’ heroic efforts to protect and expand end-of-life options. If you value their work as I do, please support Compassion & Choices with a contribution today.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric Kress

P.S. Click here to view Reason TV’s coverage of the fight to stop HB 505.

Choice at life’s end scored a major victory yesterday! The Montana Senate defeated a bill to criminalize aid in dying, which was made legal by the 2009 state Supreme Court ruling in Baxter v. Montana.

As a Compassion & Choices supporter, you share credit for this impressive win. We prevailed against anti-choice zealots who worked for more than three years to undo the landmark Baxter ruling and quash the right of terminally ill Montanans to die with dignity on their own terms.

Make no mistake: This is a resounding victory for Compassion & Choices, our supporters in Montana and across the country, and for the principle of self-determination. Please take a few moments to savor it and the extraordinary effort that made it possible.

1) The Montana Senate actually reversed course to defeat HB505. We called it the “Physician Imprisonment Act of 2013″ because it would have incarcerated doctors for up to 10 years for providing aid in dying to terminal patients. Once predicted to pass, the bill was defeated instead, by a bipartisan vote of 27-23.

2) The Senate vote was the direct result of sustained on-the-ground activism by Compassion & Choices Montana. For more than two years, this dynamic campaign fielded staff and volunteers to alert residents to the threat of HB505. Its multi-tactical campaign included:

• an education drive that reached tens of thousands of Montanans in all corners of the state and encouraged them to telephone their legislators and otherwise make their voice heard;
• radio and print ads urging Montanans to contact their legislators to oppose the bill;
• outreach to newspaper editorial boards and other opinion leaders, and an aggressive letter-to-the-editor campaign;
• mobilization of doctors to publicly oppose the bill and affirm their support for the practice of aid in dying;
• in-person lobbying of lawmakers in Helena and their home districts;
• social media and other efforts to spread the word and summon voters to action.

3) A high point in our campaign came when long-time supporter Dr. Eric Kress, a family physician at Western Montana Clinic, publicly disclosed that he had written aid-in-dying prescriptions for three of his patients since the 2009 Baxter decision.

Dr. Kress narrated our radio ad, appeared in print ads, authored a powerful op-ed for The Missoulian newspaper and delivered courageous testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. We cannot overstate the importance of his eloquent and persuasive support, and the influence it had on lawmakers and the public alike.

4) We backed up our advocacy with a poll of Montana voters, which confirmed that 73 percent opposed HB505 and 67 percent were less likely to vote for a legislator who supported it.

5) The victory maintains Montana’s status as the third state where aid in dying is expressly legal. That status was the direct result of Compassion & Choices’ landmark Baxter v. Montana lawsuit, which confirmed that physician aid in dying did not violate state public policy in Montana.

6) The victory also underscores the growing level of public willingness to take personal action to defend the right to death with dignity, and to oppose zealots who seek to pass draconian laws like HB505 and use misinformation, scare tactics, moral judgments and other means to deny people their most sacred rights at life’s end.

Special thanks goes to the thousands of Montanans who took action to defeat HB505, and to hundreds of Compassion & Choices Montana volunteers who worked the phones, knocked on doors, talked to neighbors and loved ones, and otherwise devoted themselves to make sure that truth and reason prevailed.

Without our shared commitment, HB505 would be law today. The fact that it isn’t is a true testament to the leadership of Compassion & Choices Montana and the dedication of our wonderful supporters.

Senate Reverses Course from Last Week

(Helena, Mont. – Apr. 15, 2013) The nation’s leading end-of-life choice advocacy group, Compassion & Choices, praised the Montana Senate today for reversing course and rejecting a House-passed bill that would imprison doctors for up to 10 years if they provide aid in dying to terminally ill patients. The 27-23 bipartisan vote against the so-called Doctor Imprisonment Act, HB505, came after both Democrats and Republicans spoke out against the legislation. Just last week, the Senate voted 31-17 to approve a motion to “blast” the legislation out of committee to the Senate floor.

“This bipartisan vote is a win for Montanans and the doctors who honor the wishes of their terminally ill patients by supporting their choice to die with dignity on their own terms,” said Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee, a nurse and physician assistant for 25 years before becoming a private attorney and a Chief Petitioner of the first-in-the nation 1994 Oregon Death with Dignity Act. “The legislature did the right thing by honoring the wishes of the vast majority of Montanans who don’t want the government dictating their medical treatment at the end of their lives. Today’s vote is in line with the national trend to approve aid in dying, not criminalize it.”

If HB 505 had become law, it would have gutted a 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling in Baxter v. Montana, a case brought by Compassion & Choices. The court confirmed it does not violate state public policy in Montana for a physician to provide aid in dying to a mentally competent, terminally ill adult.

“If HB505 had passed, I could have gone to prison for providing the medical care my terminally ill patients request,” said Dr. Eric Kress, a family physician at Western Montana Clinic, who has written aid in dying prescriptions for three patients since the Baxter decision. Kress narrated a statewide radio campaign opposing HB 505, appeared in print ads featuring quotes from other doctors opposed to HB 505 and authored an oped opposing HB 505 published last week in The Missoulian. “The overwhelmingly positive public support I have received has strengthened my resolve to ensure this right is never taken away.”

In contrast to Montana, efforts promoting patient choice at the end-of-life are underway in numerous other diverse states, including Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Vermont. In February, the Vermont Senate gave final approval to a “Death with Dignity” bill that would protect doctors from criminal or civil liability when treating terminally ill patients who choose to end their lives.

A national poll last May by Republican pollster Frank Luntz showed 84 percent of voters agree that: “How a terminally ill person chooses to end his/her life should be an individual decision and not a government decision.”

A poll of 605 likely Montana voters conducted this month by Global Strategy Group shows 73 percent of them oppose HB 505, including 81 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Independents and 64 percent of Republicans. The poll also reveals that 67 percent of voters will be less likely to vote for a legislator who supported HB 505, including 53 percent who said they will be much less likely. Nearly seven out 10 voters (69%) support allowing a mentally competent adult who is dying of a terminal disease and in extreme pain to choose to end his or her life in a humane and dignified way, including 48% who strongly support such a choice.

by Compassion & Choices staff
April 11, 2013

(Washington, D.C. – Apr. 11, 2013) The Montana Senate today gave preliminary approval to a House-passed bill to imprison doctors for up to 10 years if they provide aid in dying to terminally ill patients, despite a new poll showing nearly three-quarters of state voters oppose the legislation. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to approve the bill, HB505, but today the Senate approved a motion to “blast” it out of committee to the Senate floor by a 31-17 vote. This procedural vote means that unless some senators change their minds on the 2^nd or 3^rd and final reading of HB 505, it will become law unless Gov. Steve Bullock vetoes the bill.

“We urge Montana senators who voted ‘aye’ to reverse course. This draconian bill would punish doctors for practicing good medicine and giving their suffering patients choices at the end-of-life,” said Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee, a nurse and physician assistant for 25 years before becoming a private attorney and a Chief Petitioner of the first-in-the nation 1994 Oregon Death with Dignity Act. “If they decide to defy the will of Montana voters, we urge Gov. Bullock to correct their error and veto this bill.”

A poll of 605 likely Montana voters conducted last week by Global Strategy Group shows 73 percent of them oppose HB 505, including 81 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Independents and 64 percent of Republicans. The poll also reveals that 67 percent of voters will be less likely to vote for a legislator who supported HB 505, including 53 percent who said they will be much less likely. Nearly seven out 10 voters (69%) support allowing a mentally competent adult who is dying of a terminal disease and in extreme pain to choose to end his or her life in a humane and dignified way, including 48% who strongly support such a choice.

If HB 505 becomes law, it would gut a 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling in Baxter v. Montana, a case brought by Compassion & Choices. The court confirmed it does not violate state public policy in Montana for a physician to provide aid in dying to a mentally competent, terminally ill adult.

“If HB505 passes, I will be thrown in prison. The government will strip away a right that the citizens of Montana now enjoy,” said Dr. Eric Kress, a family physician at Western Montana Clinic, who has written aid in dying prescriptions for three patients since the Baxter decision. Kress authored an oped published Sunday in The Missoulian about treating terminally ill patients in agonizing pain.

In contrast to Montana, legislative efforts promoting patient choice at the end-of-life are underway in numerous other diverse states, including Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Vermont. In February, the Vermont Senate gave final approval to a “Death with Dignity” bill that would protect doctors from criminal or civil liability when treating terminally ill patients who choose to end their lives. A national poll last May by Republican pollster Frank Luntz showed 84 percent of voters agree that: “How a terminally ill person chooses to end his/her life should be an individual decision and not a government decision.”

By Compassion & Choices staff
April 11, 2013

(Helena, MT) – HB505, an extreme bill that would eliminate Montana’s currently legal practice of aid in dying and make it a felony, was blasted to the Senate Floor this afternoon on a 31-17 procedural vote. The blast motion overrides the vote of the Judiciary Committee, which tabled the bill last week. Opponents of aid in dying worked the system to get a second chance to pass the Physician Imprisonment Act, which, according to a recent poll, 73 percent of Montanans oppose.

The following statement can be attributed to Emily Bentley, Campaign Manager, Compassion & Choices Montana.

“We are disappointed that the Montana Senate did not respect the Judiciary Committee’s ability to decide the merits of this bill based on the testimony senators heard on March 26. The bill was tabled with bi-partisan opposition in committee. Montana senators have much more important things to work on at this critical time in the legislature than intimidating compassionate doctors. This bill undercuts Montanans’ expectations of personal autonomy without government interference. It parachutes big government into families’ most personal moments and criminalizes compassionate medical care. We will continue to work to defeat this bill because it would deny suffering, terminally ill patients the ability to choose aid in dying, by imprisoning doctors who support their patients’ decisions. We urge the full Senate to block this bill on its merits when it is considered.”

The overwhelming majority of Montanans, to the tune of 82 percent, believe that end-of-life choices are private decisions that should be made without government interference, according to an April 2013 poll of likely voters conducted by Global Strategy Group.

A memo released by Global Strategy Group reveals that “these data suggest that legislators will pay a real price for supporting efforts to penalize and criminalize doctors for doing so. Ultimately, Montanans support the choice for others, want to be able to make the legal choice for themselves, and believe there is no role for government when it comes to making that choice.”

Nearly three-quarters of voters across party lines oppose HB505, which would send doctors to prison for providing medication that would allow a terminally ill patient to end his or her own life in a humane and dignified way. Sixty seven percent of voters say they would be less likely to vote for a legislator who supported such a proposal, including 53 percent who said they would be much less likely.