I have always been a fighter. Each individual needs to find their own threshold of where their quality of life is no longer viable. I have come to terms with the loss of my autonomy and inability to interact with my community outside my home. Should my pressure sores become septic or I had a recurrence of pneumonia, I would likely qualify for this bill.

Disability organizations like Not Dead Yet do not speak for all disabled people in their opposition to the bill. They call it assisted suicide, which it definitely is not. Having been a psychotherapist for decades, I am offended by the word suicide, which is misleading and disrespectful to the dying and their families. People who are suicidal are reactive and want to die. In most cases, this is transitory and treatable, which can result in a productive life.

People facing death want to live, but can’t. They just want to choose how they will die, with less suffering for themselves and their loved ones.

This law is sensitively crafted and protective of the rights of the dying. If someone was deemed unable to make an informed choice by the two physicians required to make the assessment, a referral would be made to a licensed mental-health provider. Assisted suicide is illegal and would remain illegal in Colorado.

Please support this bill and allow Coloradans the option to choose what sort of medical care to seek in living and dying.

Ilene Alexander

Crestone