SANTA FE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico and the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) filed a writ with Supreme Court of New Mexico, asking the court to expedite review of Morris v. New Mexico,  the case seeking the right of mentally competent, terminally ill people to seek physician aid in dying. On August 11, the New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned the District Court’s previous decision which stated that aid in dying is a “fundamental right.” The Court of Appeals’ opinion makes the medically sound and safe practice of aid in dying illegal in New Mexico and leaves many terminally ill New Mexicans without the ability to avoid unnecessary suffering at the end of their life.

“The Court of Appeals’ opinion takes away a fundamental right from terminally ill patients,” said ACLU-NM cooperating attorney Laura Schauer Ives. “Today, we are asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to immediately review this decision and restore the right for terminally ill patients to self-administer a medication that will help them achieve a peaceful death. Without a speedy, definitive resolution to this matter, terminally ill New Mexicans risk becoming trapped in a dying process they find unbearable; they deserve better.”

ACLU-NM and DRLC filed the petition along with an affidavit from Susan Brown, a terminally ill cancer patient from Albuquerque who seeks the comfort of knowing she will not have to suffer unbearably through the final ravages of her illness before death arrives. From the petition:

Sue Brown

 

Before the Court is one of the most private, intimate decisions made in a lifetime—how we face our own deaths. That decision should be reserved to the individual, not majority vote, informed by our most deeply held values, beliefs, and unique circumstances. Susan Brown is terminally ill, and her life will soon end. She seeks some control over the inevitable and wants the option of ingesting medication to achieve a peaceful death should her suffering become unbearable.

In support of the right to seek aid in dying, acclaimed Native American artist David Bradley of Santa Fe, who was diagnosed with terminal ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) four years ago, stated:

David Bradley

 

I believe that all mentally competent, terminally ill patients should have the option of aid-in-dying. When I heard that the NM courts had made it illegal, I was sad to know that I no longer had that option. One of my worst fears is ending up in a hospital, nearly a vegetable, with all kinds of tubes in me keeping me alive against my wishes while my family stands by in anguish.  As an independent artist, I have always lived my life on my own terms guided by my strong principles. I want that to be true in my final days as well. When I die, I want to experience a peaceful death, at home, surrounded by my loved ones.

Links:

 
Full text of the petition to the New Mexico Supreme Court
Susan Brown’s Personal Statement
David Bradley’s Personal Statement
 
 

I am 61 years old, I have made my living as an artist for 35 years. I am a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and my wife and son are members of Jemez Pueblo. I have lived in New Mexico for almost 40 years.

After serving in the Peace Corps for two years, I came to Santa Fe to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts. After graduating first in my class, I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the College of Santa Fe. Since that time, I have made my living as an artist. I currently have a one-person exhibit of my work at the NM Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the exhibit is up for a full year.

I was diagnosed with a terminal illness called ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease) exactly 4 years ago, this week, the week of the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. ALS is a neuro-muscular disease that attacks the nervous system and the muscles. The median survival time after diagnosis is 3yrs and 3 months, though many patients die sooner or later than this. I have the bulbar onset kind of ALS, that means that it attacks my breathing, speech, eating and swallowing, one day I won’t be able to speak at all, I won’t be able to swallow food or water, and eventually my diaphragm and lungs will stop working and, unable to breathe, I will die. I don’t want to spend my final days with tubes in me, trapped in a dying process where I slowly suffocate. I sincerely hope that the doctors can provide aid in dying when my suffering becomes too great.

When we are well, we all think we will live forever. When you get diagnosed with a terminal illness, the first thing to die are your hopes and dreams, you try desperately to comprehend what is happening to you, you struggle with the sorrow of knowing you will not live the life you had planned. You then go through specific stages of grieving, the same emotional stages of grieving that you go through when you try to cope with the death of a loved one. You grieve for your own death.

I believe that all mentally competent, terminally ill patients should have the option of aid-in-dying. When I heard that the NM courts had made it illegal, I was sad to know that I no longer had that option. One of my worst fears is ending up in a hospital, nearly a vegetable, with all kinds of tubes in me keeping me a live against my wishes while my family stands by in anguish.  As an independent artist, I have always lived my life on my own terms guided by my strong principles.  I want that to be true in my final days as well. When I die, I want to experience a peaceful death, at home, surrounded by my loved ones.

Sincerely,
David P Bradley

I am a 65 year old Albuquerque resident who is dying from cancer.  I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling education.  I worked for 26 years for the Department of Energy here in Albuquerque.  I have a daughter and two granddaughters who live in Albuquerque.

I strongly believe that physician aid in dying should be available in New Mexico to terminally ill, mentally competent patients like me. This belief comes from my experience caring for my mother who died in 2013.  When she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, it had already spread and was untreatable.  My mother suffered tremendously in the final months of her life.  She was unable to get out of bed, use the toilet, or clean herself.  She also experienced continuous, intractable pain even when she was given high doses of pain medication. She was reduced to tears daily. When she died after months of physical and mental agony, I knew I did not want to die like she did.

I was diagnosed with thymic carcinoma, a rare cancer that develops in the thymus gland, in 2010.  I had the tumor surgically removed and, after aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, my cancer went into remission.  I was overjoyed.  Then, two years later, my doctors found a new tumor.  My cancer had returned and spread to my bones, liver, and lungs.  Once again, I was determined to do everything I could to defeat the cancer.  I underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  Despite the treatment, however, my cancer has continued to spread.  In July, I was told I had six months to live.

I am continuing to fight the cancer.  If I can have a couple more months or even only a couple more days to live, I want them.  I want to travel with my daughter and my granddaughters. I am continuing with chemotherapy. At this point, I have good days and bad days.  I am no longer able to do many of the things I used to do. My pain is significant.  I try to manage the pain and have been working with my doctor to find the right balance of medication so I can remain clear-headed and capable, but also not experience pain.  I do not want to spend my final days so drugged that I cannot function or think.

In the event that my suffering becomes unbearable, I would like to have the option of having my doctor prescribe a medication that will help me to achieve a peaceful death at the time and in the manner of my choosing. I was devastated when I heard the news that this practice, physician aid in dying, is no longer available. I very much want this option for my final days. I continue to hold out hope that I will outlive my diagnosis, that I will beat the cancer, and I am still fighting. But if the cancer causes me to suffer more than I can bear, I want to be able to legally achieve a peaceful death.

- Sue Brown