Assisted Suicide, Illegal Aliens & Charter Schools

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 2, 2012
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. 30 years ago Dr. Jack Kevorkian wanted to know why we can’t help people commit suicide, since we help them while they’re being born. After raising that question, he took his old rusty Volkswagen van in 1990 and his self-injection machine and crisscrossed Michigan helping folks kill themselves with a lethal drug. Soon he was known as Dr. Death and not much later was convicted of second-degree murder and sent to prison for eight years.

Georgia’s law against assisted suicide passed in 1994 and went unchallenged until the Final Exit Network asked the court to rule it unconstitutional, claiming it violated their right to freely advertise their Final Exit services. The Georgia Supreme Court recently ruled in their favor and Georgia’s law against assisted suicide was nullified.

But, on February 22nd, Representative Ed Setzler introduced H.B. 1114 to make assisted suicide a felony, punishable by one to ten years in prison and loss of license to practice. That would, certainly, restrict assisted suicide. The Non Civil Judiciary Committee passed it by substitute and it’s now in the House Rules Committee, chaired by Representative John Meadows. Please call him at404 656-5141 and ask him to put it on the House calendar, immediately. To pass this session, it needs to be voted on by the end of cross-over day, which is Wednesday, March 7th.

S.B. 458 was introduced by Senator Barry Loudermilk February 17th to clarify state laws aimed at illegal immigration and streamline the proof of eligibility process for accessing public benefits. It would increase national and state security regarding the acceptance of foreign passports and keep our public funded college and tech school classroom seats for U.S. citizens and those who enter this country the right way.

S.B. 458 it poised to pass in the Senate. It has progressed through the Senate Judiciary Committee, through the Senate Rules Committee and the full Senate will vote on it Monday, March 5th. Since it’s on the second page of Monday’s calendar, please call your senator before noon on Monday and ask him to vote YES on S.B. 458.

Incidentally, H.R. 1162, the charter school bill passed the House 123 to 48 on February 22nd. If it passes the Senate, a question will be on the November ballot for voters to decide whether the Constitution should be changed to give more power to the state by decreasing the authority of locally elected school boards. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.