Donato: Vote No on Assisted Suicide

State Rep. Paul Donato, D-Malden/Medford, is urging Massachusetts voters to say no to assisted suicide, according to a statement from his office.

“Regardless of where a person stands on the issue of physician-assisted suicide, Question 2 – as designed – contains serious flaws, such the lack of a psychiatric evaluation and no family notification,” Donato said in a written statement.

“For these reasons and others, I encourage the voters of Medford and Malden to reject Question 2 on November 6.”

Also known as the Death with Dignity Act, Question 2, which will be on state ballots for the Nov. 6 election, calls for physicians licensed in Massachusetts to be allowed to prescribe medication, at the request of a terminally-ill patient meeting certain conditions, to end that person’s life.

It is one of four questions that received the necessary signatures to make the ballot. And while Donato has come out against it, the proposal has political support, too, including U.S. Congressman Barney Frank.

"Question 2 is a vote for individual rights and personal freedom," Frank said in a written statement earlier this month. "This is the most personal of decisions and it should not be denied to a terminally ill patient."