Personal opinions of longtime Boston disability rights activist and writer.John B. Kelly.
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ALT Faded close up image of older white woman holding hands with another white woman with teal and red color and teal dots. At the top, teal banner that says in white, "WAITING PERIODS NOW CONSIDERED A MAJOR BARRIER." Below, a red number 5 and light white box with the text, "Waiting periods were initially proposed as a substantial “safeguard” so that the patient has a 15 day reflection period to consider an irreversible decision. States are now reducing the waiting period to mere hours or waiving them altogether. Compassion and Choices states: “While the waiting period was included with good intention, it has proven to create unnecessary suffering as it delays an already cumbersome process.”
ALT Image of John B Kelly, a white man with glasses sitting in a wheelchair wearing a collard shirt. Blue text says, "John B. Kelly: Not Dead Yet" An orange banner below says "Meet the Plaintiffs"
ALT Text says, "John B. Kelly is the New England Regional Director of Not Dead Yet, the national disability rights group against assisted suicide as deadly discrimination against disabled people. During a legalization campaign in 2012, he founded and continues to direct 2nd Thoughts MA: Disability Rights Advocates against Assisted Suicide. Since then, John has become a national leader in secular opposition to legalization. He has debated Dr. Marcia Angell, prominent bioethicist Thaddeus Pope, and Brittany Maynard’s widower Dan Diaz. In 1997, he published a widely noted opinion piece in the Boston Globe finding the messages of Jack Kevorkian and Christopher Reeve as equally dismal. His work has been featured in outlets such as the Quincy Sun, Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram, CNN’s “United Shades Of America,” and elsewhere. John has a Masters degree in Sociology from Brandeis. Mayor Thomas Menino was so impressed by his access advocacy that he declared July 26th, 2012, “John B. Kelly Day"
ALT Teal background with a legal scale in red faded in the background. At the top, a teal banner that says, "Legalize Assisted Suicide First, Amend The Law Later" below is a number one in red, and the text below says, "J.M. Sorrell, the Executive Director of Massachusetts Death with Dignity, speaking about the Massachusetts bill to legalize assisted suicide: "It models Hawaii, which was the other one that was a little bit more conservative than the others in terms of limitations and the hoops you have to go through to get medical aid in dying. Once you get something passed, you can always work on amendments later, so I’m working to be patient. (1)" (1) https://www.recorder.com/SJC-Aid-In-Dying-Not-A-Protected-Constitutional-Right-49298186
![[ID: Photo of Anita Cameron on a red background with a quote: ". . . These places that are sweltering now, how many agencies have consulted people with disabilities and how many climate change folks have thought about the effects of climate change on people with disabilities . . ?" The subtext says "Anita Cameron: Disability Justice Activist; Director of Minority Outreach, Not Dead Yet." In the corner is a logo for The Laura Flanders Show."]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F16F_n1X0AIOirt.jpg?name=orig)
ALT [ID: Photo of Anita Cameron on a red background with a quote: ". . . These places that are sweltering now, how many agencies have consulted people with disabilities and how many climate change folks have thought about the effects of climate change on people with disabilities . . ?" The subtext says "Anita Cameron: Disability Justice Activist; Director of Minority Outreach, Not Dead Yet." In the corner is a logo for The Laura Flanders Show."]
ALT Teal background & image of a man of color sitting outside wearing a military uniform, combat boots, & he has a prosthetic leg. The top says, "Eight important reasons to oppose legalization of assisted suicide." below next to a #6, it says, "Suicide promotion and contagion are real." Below it says, "A Veterans Affairs Canadas (VAC) staffer made an unprompted suggestion of the option of assisted suicide to a veteran seeking assistance for PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. A CDC report reveals that from 1999-2010, suicide among those aged 35-64 increased 49% in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, as compared to a 28% increase nationally. “Legalization has a substantial impact on older adult women's engagement in self-initiated death. In Switzerland and in Oregon, where assisted suicide/medical-aid-in-dying (MAID) is legal and where assisted-suicide/MAID and suicide comparative-studies have been conducted, older adult women avoid self-initiated death except when physician-approved."
