RSSIn Our View: Following Oregon
By None, The Vancouver Columbian, Jan. 14, 2008
Death-with-dignity issue surfaces here as Gardner presents initiative
Oregon's 10-year-old Death With Dignity Act - twice approved by voters - has survived numerous legal challenges and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The assisted-suicide measure has many provisions and requirements, but essentially it allows terminally ill people to end their pain and suffering by taking their own lives under a physician's supervision.
The act requires proof of mental competency, physicians' signatures, witnesses who would not be heirs, and waiting periods.
Should Washington state adopt a Death With Dignity Act? We believe so, but first ponder this question: Should voters be allowed to decide? Of course they should, and that's why former Gov. Booth Gardner deserves praise for launching the "Washington Death With Dignity Initiative." He and other volunteers need about 225,000 signatures to get the measure on the November ballot.
Opponents of assisted suicide continually decry the envisioned slippery slope of widespread suicide. Reality, though, is based not on fear but on statistics: In 2006 there were 46 assisted-suicide deaths in Oregon, or fewer than 1.5 such deaths per 1,000 people. Since 2002, the number has averaged about 40 per year in the state, with no significant increase.
Washington voters rejected an assisted-suicide initiative in 1991, but three developments have arisen since then:
The passage of time. It could be that in these intervening 17 years, public attitudes about death-with-dignity issues have changed. We say it could be, because we don't know. Putting the matter on the ballot is the best way to find out. If it fails, we'll respect that verdict.
Unlike 1991 voters, today's voters have Oregon's 10-year track record, and the clearing of numerous legal hurdles, to observe as they make up their minds on the issue.
Gardner's initiative differs from the 1991 measure because it would not allow doctors to administer lethal drugs on behalf of patients who could not do so themselves.
Gardner possesses a profound persective on pain and suffering. He has had Parkinson's disease for more than a decade. The disease is incurable, but is not considered fatal, so Gardner would not qualify for the Death With Dignity Act. But, as he said this week, "I just feel very strongly that I ought to have control over my life. I hate to lose control. That's just my nature, and a lot of people feel that way."
But not, apparently, Gov. Chris Gregoire, who earlier this week said she would have difficulty supporting Gardner's proposal. Later in the week, Gregoire said she would not actively oppose the initiative: "It is not my place to impose my morality on others." That stance is admirable. It indirectly speaks to the wisdom of a Death With Dignity Act, and the autonomy that it bestows upon one who seeks - solely on his or her own volition - to stop the pain of a certifiably terminal illness.
Death with dignity is an option, and nothing more. Those who want to pursue that option - independently - should have that right.
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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.
