Compassionate end-of-life care should be taken seriously by KY legislators

State Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, has filed a bill in Frankfort that would allow a terminally ill patient — with six or fewer months to live — the right to request a self-administered drug to end their life. Camuel’s bill would require waiting periods, mental acuity reviews, and multiple physicians to approve the request.

Recently, Addia Wuchner, a former Republican state representative and current executive director of Kentucky Right to Life stated House Bill 408 uses “compassion,” and “creative language” to “justify policies that intentionally cause death.” If signed into law, Wuchner said the bill would blur the line between “compassionate medical care and ending human life.”

Many of us have been in the position of assisting a family member with end-of-life arrangements; funeral planning, estate planning, and even end-of-life care. It can be a challenging time, for not only the caregiver, but the patient as well.

Wuchner herself spent decades as a Nurse and knows that once a patient has been removed from life support, the law already allows the administration of drugs to make the transition less painful, effectively increasing the ability of the patient to die. Personally, upon removing our mother from life support in 2023, we were able to utilize this option to provide comfort during her final moments. In other words, she received assistance in her death. HB 408 is simply a tool to allow a comfortable choice, earlier in the process.

Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and political organizations like Right to Life benefit financially from forcing a patient to live in unimaginable pain. Families suffer, watching their loved ones hang on with assistance from medication, prolonged hospital stays, frequent ambulance trips, and additional medical expenses which can quickly reach thousands of dollars.

In 2014, my family endured this experience, with the passing of our grandmother, due to multiple cancers. In a 30-day period, total medical expenses eclipsed $94,000. Though we knew there was no viable option for remission, and though she knew what was coming – she suffered. It was a painful, inhumane way to leave the earth.

House Bill 408 provides dignity to the terminally ill. It provides compassion, and it ensures the promise guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, that as an American, you have the right — the freedom — to make your own choice.

HB 408 does present a problem, however, for to organizations that will lose revenue when they are unable to charge endless amounts of money to prolong the life of a terminally ill patient — increasing their suffering for financial gain.

Right to Life sounds like a good mission statement, especially when used to defend abortion bans. How beneficial it could be if that same sentiment applied to those already living.

William E. Woods is a resident of Boone County, and former gubernatorial candidate in Kentucky.