The Conquering Pain bill, cosponsored by Senator Wyden (D-OR), Senator Mack (R-FL), Senator Smith (R-OR), and Rep. Hooley (D-OR), is in direct response to last session’s debates following the introduction of the defeated Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act. Those discussions demonstrated legislators’ interest in curbing the public’s fears about unmanaged pain at the end of life. This fear may fuel, to some extent, the calls to legalize physician-assisted suicide. The proposed Lethal Drug Act would have impeded physicians’ willingness to control pain with opioid analgesics. With the help of ABCD and other national groups, Wyden and others crafted the "Conquering Pain Act of 1999" to target the underlying issues of quality improvement and access to pain relief.
ABCD President Joanne Lynn, M.D., spoke at the congressional press briefing to announce this legislation. Dr. Lynn provided a voice representative of the many patients and families she has served in her years as a practicing geriatrician, stating, "Everyone here has a story of someone whose last months or days were unnecessarily miserable. Even those who have a good story to tell add the curious phrase, 'We were lucky.' Lucky! It should not be a matter of good fortune to get decent care for the very sick. That should be what every American can rely upon!" Other experts speaking at the briefing included a hospice nurse, a sister with the Catholic Health Association, and the President of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.
ABCD will continue working to inform those members of Congress who have yet to get involved on end-of-life care issues about the need for a hearing. Legislators need to understand that there is a large jump from "palliative care" to "euthanasia" - many policymakers do not yet understand the difference, and some even recoil at requests to discuss improved end-of-life care. With legislation like "The Conquering Pain Act," ABCD can continue to work to educate about the need for reform in this arena. ABCD members can further this work by calling and writing their representatives to voice their own concerns. Read the bill on-line. Please post copies of letters on the ABCD discussion board at Growth House, or send copies to me at ihojhf@gwumc.edu, and I will post them on our conference board. Staff from Living With Dignity have posted a notice on strategies to support this legislation. Their document is full of good ideas and advice.
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