Senator'requested review: NCD weighs updating 2019 assisted-suicide report amid state and international expansions

Anne Sommers McIntosh, NCD's director of legislative affairs and outreach, told the council the office prepared a proposal to update NCD's 2019 report opposing legalization of assisted suicide because policy and practice have changed since the last review. "Several of you know that NCD has a nearly 30-year position against the legalization of assisted suicide," she said, noting the council's concerns about presumptions about quality of life, caregiver abuse and discrimination.

McIntosh identified recent developments that would make an update timely: six additional U.S. states have legalized assisted suicide since 2019; Canada expanded eligibility nationwide and is under U.N. scrutiny for including people with disabilities; and scholars have flagged oversight gaps and rising use among people with certain conditions.

She said an updated review would examine whether new safeguards have limited abuse, whether coverage and palliative-care access have changed, and whether social determinants (lack of services or supports) are contributing to requests for assisted suicide. "We would take a really hard look at these expansion efforts, and their unique dangers with people with disabilities," McIntosh said.

Council members voiced support for examining the issue. Chair Romano noted a Senate office had asked NCD to consider the update but stressed the council's independence in choosing work priorities.

What happens next: staff will prepare a draft scope assessing state and international changes, possible impacts on healthcare and social services for people with disabilities, and will circulate it for Council consideration before deciding whether to undertake a full update.