Lawmakers in New Hampshire tabled a bill last week that would legalize assisted suicide — an action that means the bill is unlikely to be further considered this session.

The House voted 183-182 to pause the highly controversial House Bill 254, due to the fact that many believed it would be unable to pass. Similar legislation cleared the House last year only to be put aside in the Senate. According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, lawmakers could still choose to bring the bill up for debate again, but are unlikely to do so.

“I do enjoy a debate of nine speakers such as we have lined up here as much as the next guy,” House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said. “But I also know that we don’t need to have the same debate every year.”

Opponents in both the medical and disabilities fields spoke strongly against the bill during testimony earlier this year.

John Jurczyk, president of Nashua’s St. Joseph Hospital, said he was against legalized assisted suicide “due to the ethical, medical and societal implications.”

“The primary responsibility of health care providers is to preserve life,” he said, “not to facilitate its termination even in cases of terminal illness.”

Michelle Flynn, a retired internal medicine physician, noted that she found it impossible to accurately determine whether or not a patient had six months to live — something that would have been required under the bill’s passage. “I always get it wrong. I would say ‘I think you have six months,’ and people would have two years or vice versa,” she testified.

Lawmakers also heard from Sam Safford, a man who testified that he was projected to live only until the age of four. He recounted experiencing a difficult period later in his life, where he feared he would have chosen assisted suicide had it been available.

“I began waking up every morning wanting to die,” he said. “If assisted suicide had been legal when I was in the depths of my despair, it would have seemed like the best action. It would’ve been a permanent solution to what I felt like was permanent pain.”

Safford went on, “Four years later, I can say that I am well and enjoy a rich and abundant life. My life has value and dignity in my living. I urge you to oppose this bill. The medical community and insurance companies will only use it to end the lives of people like me.”

The NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention (NHCSP) also publicly opposed the bill, writing, “One of the most alarming aspects of HB 254 is the message it sends about suicide.”

“Public health officials and mental health advocates have worked tirelessly to prevent suicides, especially among teenagers, veterans, and those struggling with mental health challenges,” it added. “However, by legalizing physician-assisted suicide, the state would effectively be endorsing the idea that suicide is an acceptable option in certain cases.”

Lawmakers in New Hampshire tabled a bill last week that would legalize assisted suicide — an action that means the bill is unlikely to be further considered this session.

The House voted 183-182 to pause the highly controversial House Bill 254, due to the fact that many believed it would be unable to pass. Similar legislation cleared the House last year only to be put aside in the Senate. According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, lawmakers could still choose to bring the bill up for debate again, but are unlikely to do so.

“I do enjoy a debate of nine speakers such as we have lined up here as much as the next guy,” House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said. “But I also know that we don’t need to have the same debate every year.”

Opponents in both the medical and disabilities fields spoke strongly against the bill during testimony earlier this year.

John Jurczyk, president of Nashua’s St. Joseph Hospital, said he was against legalized assisted suicide “due to the ethical, medical and societal implications.”

“The primary responsibility of health care providers is to preserve life,” he said, “not to facilitate its termination even in cases of terminal illness.”

Michelle Flynn, a retired internal medicine physician, noted that she found it impossible to accurately determine whether or not a patient had six months to live — something that would have been required under the bill’s passage. “I always get it wrong. I would say ‘I think you have six months,’ and people would have two years or vice versa,” she testified.

Lawmakers also heard from Sam Safford, a man who testified that he was projected to live only until the age of four. He recounted experiencing a difficult period later in his life, where he feared he would have chosen assisted suicide had it been available.

“I began waking up every morning wanting to die,” he said. “If assisted suicide had been legal when I was in the depths of my despair, it would have seemed like the best action. It would’ve been a permanent solution to what I felt like was permanent pain.”

Safford went on, “Four years later, I can say that I am well and enjoy a rich and abundant life. My life has value and dignity in my living. I urge you to oppose this bill. The medical community and insurance companies will only use it to end the lives of people like me.”

The NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention (NHCSP) also publicly opposed the bill, writing, “One of the most alarming aspects of HB 254 is the message it sends about suicide.”

“Public health officials and mental health advocates have worked tirelessly to prevent suicides, especially among teenagers, veterans, and those struggling with mental health challenges,” it added. “However, by legalizing physician-assisted suicide, the state would effectively be endorsing the idea that suicide is an acceptable option in certain cases.”