Assisted-Suicide Battle Brewing in Massachusetts

Whether or not the terminally ill should have the right to end their own lives has been the source of a contentious debate for decades.

Physician assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and Washington state. Now, the next battle front over the issue is coming to Massachusetts.

Carey Goldberg of WBUR's CommonHealth, did some reporting on the issue this week:

The group behind the ballot initiative, Dignity 2012, gathered nearly 80,000 residents’ signatures, which seems to be a comfortable margin over the 70,000 or so needed to put a measure on the ballot. And this weekend, delegates at a major meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society voted to reaffirm their opposition to physician-assisted suicide, according to a society press release.

We talk to Goldberg about the issues around assisted-suicide that now face our state.

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Correction: Lynda Young is the President of the Massachusetts Medical Society