A Nevada bill that would legalize assisted suicide was the subject of horrifically one-sided, totally supportive coverage on Telemundo, the Spanish-language sister network of NBC.
In the introduction to what amounted to a pure public relations piece for the pro-assisted suicide lobbying organization Compassion and Choices, anchor José Díaz-Balart touted support for the measure by “legendary civil rights icon Dolores Huerta” and thus essentially framed the cause as a civil right.
Moreover, the veteran NBC-Telemundo anchor told viewers that network correspondent Rebeka Smyth spoke with "patients and activists" about the issue, but it turns out none of the patients or activists featured in the report were opposed to the controversial measure, which thankfully (from a conservative, pro-life perspective) was itself subsequently laid to rest in the Nevada Senate.
JOSÉ-DÍAZ-BALART, ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: The legendary civil rights activist Dolores Huerta has joined the movement that promotes the so-called ‘law of dignified death.’ So far, California, New Jersey and six other states have legalized rules that give the terminally ill the right to decide regarding their death. Rebeka Smyth spoke with patients and activists.
Only interviewing supporters and spokespersons of Compassion and Choices, Telemundo irresponsibly ignored the dozens of organizations in the United States - and many more throughout the world - that maintain that assisted suicide does not amount to a dignified death.
For the benefit of all, MRC Latino here presents some missing perspective. In an exclusive interview with Dr. Morela Scull, Horacio Esparza, who is blind and a member of the Board of Directors of Not Dead Yet, noted that "legislating for a law that kills is not dying with dignity.”
According to Esparza, many people diagnosed with terminal illness often find themselves depressed and do not want to be a burden on their families. However, the solution is to provide love, companionship and motivation, including treating their depression, finding affordable ways to pay for their treatment and using palliatives in order to alleviate or eliminate their pain.
Moreover, “terminal diagnoses are often erroneous. People can survive the diagnoses for months and even years,” Esparza points out. “Assisted suicide can lead people to stop treatment and lose years of their lives.” On its website, Not Dead Yet warns that the belief "better dead than disabled" is also a frontal threat against civil rights. The practice invariably brings to the fore ominous pressures, based on monetary calculations that it is cheaper to let the elderly and disabled die rather than live.
It is also worth pointing out that Article 10 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities establishes that "every human being has the inherent right to life" and that all nations shall “take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others."
Below is the full transcript of the above-referenced report, as aired on the April 22, 2019 edition of Noticias Telemundo.
JOSÉ-DÍAZ-BALART, ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: The legendary civil rights activist Dolores Huerta has joined the movement that promotes the so-called ‘law of dignified death.’ So far, California, New Jersey and six other states have legalized rules that give the terminally ill the right to decide regarding their death. Rebeka Smyth spoke with patients and activists.
HANNA OLIVAS, TERMINALLY ILL CANCER PATIENT: I do not want to suffer
REBEKA SMYTH, CORRESPONDENT, TELEMUNDO: Hannah knows that her days are numbered. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer and she was recently also found to have breast cancer. She does not want her four children to see her suffer. That is why she joined the Compassion and Choices campaign, and she hopes that Nevada, where she lives, will give her the option to die with dignity.
JERRY LIVAS, HUSBAND OF HANNA OLIVAS: and that she has always loved her children, and nothing will not change. Until the last day we will struggle, struggle, struggle.
REBEKA SMYTH: Jerry does not know how much life his wife has left, but he assures that he accepts her decision. Hanna understands that this movement generates mixed opinions, but at forty-four years of age and facing certain death, she expects politicians and religious people understand her position, just like activist Dolores Huerta, who herself experienced the suffering and death of her mother.
DOLORES HUERTA, SPOKESPERSON, COMPASSION AND CHOICES: Those six weeks were horrific for us, because we could look at our mother who was suffering every day.
REBEKA SMYTH: The state of New Jersey is the last state to approve as law medical assistance to die, which means that those adults in full use of their mental faculties and with a terminal illness could decide to take medicine to die in their sleep. One of the main promoters of this law insists on making it clear that this movement does not intend to favor suicide.
PATRICIA PORTILLO, NATIONAL LATINO COMMUNICATIONS AND CONSTITUENCY DIRECTOR, COMPASSION AND CHOICES: The people who want medical help to die are people who want to live, but the disease does not allow them to live.
REBEKA SMYTH: There are currently nine states in the country with medical aid in dying laws, and Hanna hopes that some day all those suffering from a terminal illness will have at least the option to decide. In New York, Rebeka Smyth, Telemundo News.
