WBUR (Boston NPR station): Massachusetts Highest Court Considers Allowing Medically Assisted Death
March 9, 2022
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments yesterday over a person's control over the end of their life and whether a doctor can legally assist in the matter. Dr. Roger Kligler, one of the plaintiffs, has stage 4 prostate cancer and desires a lethal drug prescription to end his life after learning that he has five years left to live. “Dr. Kligler faces the very real prospect that he will experience an unbearably painful death when he reaches the final days of his illness. Dr. Kligler therefore wants a prescription for a medical aid in dying drug that will allow him to peacefully and painlessly pass if his suffering becomes overwhelming,” Kligler’s attorney John Kappos said. “Our view is lawmakers have left this to the courts to determine. We think this is a case that is ripe for the Supreme Judicial Court to look at and they need not wait for the legislature to act on this issue.”
Read the full article here.