When Carolyn Johnson wrote her Nov. 7 news article about the defeat of the Death with Dignity ballot measure, she could have added the name of The Boston Globe when she stated that the opponents included religious leaders, anti-abortion activists, and conservatives. While opponents of Question 2 outspent proponents by 3-1, the Globe pitched in by editorializing against the proposal.
The Globe should be ashamed of its attack on our personal liberty, and should take responsibility for its alliance with conservatives and anti-abortion activists, who misled the public with scare tactics.
Comments
Believe it or not, a lot of people who voted for Obama and Warren also voted No on Question 2, precisely because we value personal liberty and saw this as a badly-written ballot measure that would throw open the door to elder abuse and set us on the path to a culture in which people are pressured not to burden their families with the process of natural death. Months before the election, I sent emails to addresses I found on the "Death with Dignity" site, saying that I had concerns arising from my personal experience of going through home hospice with my father and my brother, and I wondered if someone could answer my questions. No one ever replied. Mass emails from that site characterized all opposition as simply the work of right-wing extremists. In the end, my unanswered concerns gelled into a vote of No. I'm not the only one who went through this process. It would be good if the supporters of Question 2 would recognize that they aren't just arguing with conservatives and anti-abortion activists.
Lots of progressives opposed Question 2, too. Please check out Second Thoughts at www.second-thoughts.org.