RSSLet's Debate Without Distractions
By PEG SANDEEN, Guest Opinion
Published on Oregonlive.com on September 20, 2009, at 5:55PM
Ross Douthat, in his commentary in The Sunday Oregonian ("Our slippery slope of costly care and swift death," Sept. 13), argues that the current health care reform plans are leading us toward a "rendezvous with fiscal suicide." Rather than encountering data and statistics in support of this point, the reader is met with a diversion: a piece about physician-assisted suicide and not about health care reform.
By conflating two distinct health care policies, Douthat redirects the conversation away from substantive debates about reform. He may say the two are related, noting that perils lurk "at the intersection of physician-assisted suicide and health care reform." However, giving voice to a fear does not make it true.
Oregonians know that these two policies are not linked. Death with Dignity is a law that allows a terminally ill, mentally competent adult to request and receive a prescription to hasten death under many safeguards. There is nothing of the sort in the national health care reform bill, HR 3200. One section of the proposed law, championed by Oregon's own Rep. Earl Blumenauer, would allow physicians to bill Medicare once every five years for discussing end-of-life care options with their patients, if their patients so choose. This section of the law has nothing to do with Death with Dignity.
Conflating the two topics may, tragically, accomplish the goal that opponents of health care reform have established -- to scare Americans into opposing efforts to change the current system. Scare them with death panels, threats of euthanasia and rationing of care for seniors. This strategy trumps any real discussions of reform.
In 1994 and 1997, the people of Oregon participated in a public debate about the merits of Death with Dignity. There were many scare tactics -- opponents argued that children would coerce their parents into using the law, that Oregon would become a death destination, that people would flock to Oregon's beaches to die.
Oregonians listened beyond these scare tactics and conducted a healthy public debate. That debate led to a law that has worked flawlessly for 12 years, and a law, not coincidentally, that has led to marked improvements in end-of-life care overall.
Americans deserve a similar open and honest public debate about health care reform. The debate may be contentious, and it may be fraught with emotion and disagreement. Nonetheless, health care reform is a critical issue that warrants a dialogue free of politically motivated distractions.
Defend dignity. Take action.
For more than 14 years, the Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC), a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Leaders in our organization originally wrote and have continued advocating for the Oregon Death with Dignity Law. DDNC has met these challenges through extensive legal defense of the Oregon law, education and outreach programs, and by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources with one goal in mind: to ensure DDNC's financial vitality and its position as a leader in the death with dignity movement.
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Political Action Fund
The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund (the Fund) to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states. The partnership resulted in tremendous success with the resounding win in the 2008 Washington Death with Dignity campaign.
Learn more about the Fund's efforts to bring dignity to people around the nation.
About Death with Dignity
The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. The most common desire among those with a terminal illness is to die with some measure of dignity. From advance directives to physician-assisted dying, death with dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care.
Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon Death with Dignity Act -- a national catalyst for openly discussing and actively reforming end-of-life care for those who are terminally ill.
Learn more about the National Center and our family of organizations.
Patients & Families
The Death with Dignity National Center was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Based on this commitment, we are pleased to provide you with support and information as you face the difficult challenges ahead.
Research Center
We have compiled a comprehensive collection of legal briefs, journal articles, and newspaper clippings. We invite you to explore the wide array of information we have collected throughout our history.
In our Research Center you will find frequently asked questions, the history of the death with dignity movement, state monitoring statistics, and a copy of this groundbreaking statute.
