{"id":7658,"date":"2020-10-04T21:56:39","date_gmt":"2020-10-04T13:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exitinternational.net\/?p=7658"},"modified":"2020-10-04T21:58:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T13:28:05","slug":"usa-today-posts-satirize-euthanasia-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euthanasia.net\/exit\/usa-today-posts-satirize-euthanasia-law\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Today – Posts satirize Euthanasia Law: Hawaii bought \u2018passing assistance pods\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posts satirize euthanasia law, saying Hawaii bought \u2018passing assistance pods\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

USA Today, McKenzie Sadeghi<\/p>\n

The claim:\u00a0Hawaii bought dozens of \u2018passing assistance pods\u2019 following the legalization of assisted suicide<\/p>\n

Social media posts across Facebook are sharing a satirical view of euthanasia, claiming\u00a0Hawaii purchased 30 \u201cpassing assistance pods.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claim\u00a0originated on a\u00a0satirical Facebook\u00a0page, The\u00a0State of Hawaii<\/strong>, which defined itself as an \u201cEntertainment Website\u201d and frequently posted parody content.The original claim was shared at least 195,000 times.\u00a0The page no longer appears to be active.<\/p>\n

The page\u2019s name may initially have confused social media users into thinking it was official, but the\u00a0Facebook page ehawaii.gov, the state\u2019s\u00a0official page,\u00a0is defined as a \u201cPublic & Government Service \u2013\u00a0Government Website.\u201d<\/p>\n

The satirical post was shared by many users who may not have realized it was meant to make light of Hawaii\u2019s euthanasia law.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of January 1st, 2019, the state of Hawaii legalized assisted suicide. With the legalization, doctors can now prescribe death as a medical procedure,\u201d reads the post, shared Aug. 31 by a page named Sense It and nearly identical to the original claim.\u00a0\u201cTo aid Hawaii\u2019s medical providers, they have purchased 30 passing assistance pods. These pods\/machines are prescribed to patients to use should they feel the need to end their current life term.\u201d<\/p>\n

USA TODAY reached out to the page for comment.<\/p>\n

The post\u00a0has since been shared by other users on Facebook\u00a0and Twitter.<\/p>\n

\"Sarco<\/a>

Sarco at Venice Design 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

Product is real, but Hawaii did not purchase it<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the product is real and medically assisted suicide is legal in Hawaii, there is no evidence that the state purchased any \u201cpassing assistance\u201d pods.<\/p>\n

The law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, making Hawaii the seventh U.S. jurisdiction to legalize physician assisted suicide under the Our Care, Our Choice Act.<\/p>\n

Medically assisted suicide in Hawaii is legal\u00a0when two health care providers confirm a patient\u2019s diagnosis of a terminal illness,\u00a0the Associated Press reported. The law requires that qualified patients be able to self-administer a prescribed medication,\u00a0therefore, the products would not be\u00a0in compliance.<\/p>\n

The Hawaii Department of Health told USA TODAY<\/strong> via email that it has not procured \u201cpassing assistance pods\u201d for any purpose and that the department has no intention to do so.<\/p>\n

The product is also not listed under the Hawaii\u2019s \u201cPrice & Vendor List Contracts\u201d on its State Procurement Office site, which routinely publishes public\u00a0documents online.<\/p>\n

The product featured in the post is called the \u201cSacro<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d\u00a0short for sacrophagus, and designed by Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke<\/strong> and Dutch designer Alexander Bannink, the Agence France-Presse<\/strong> reported.<\/p>\n

However, according to the product\u2019s site under its Frequently Asked Questions, the company writes that \u201cThe Sacro is not and will not at this point be for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our ruling: Satire<\/strong><\/p>\n

We rate this post as SATIRE, based on our research, because it uses absurdity to bring awareness to Hawaii\u2019s euthanasia law. There is no evidence that Hawaii purchased \u201cpassing assistance pods\u201d and the original poster of the claim confirmed it was a satirical post.<\/p>\n

Our fact-check sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n