Published: Thursday, March 5, 2009
Death with Dignity law takes effect
Beginning today, people who are terminally ill in Washington can ask their doctors for a prescription for lethal medication. Washington is the second state in the country, after Oregon, to approve the practice.
The law, approved by voters in November, officially became effective at 12:01 a.m.
Just one Snohomish County hospital, Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, plans to allow the practice to occur within its walls. Advocates of Death with Dignity say that's not meaningful because most terminally ill people spend their last days at home or in a nursing facility. Doctors can choose individually whether they will provide the service for their patients.
"We're hearing from doctors at hospitals that are opting out, and the doctors are saying they'll definitely participate," said Terry Barnett, board president for Compassion & Choices of Washington State, a group that supports Death with Dignity.
Guidelines for eligible patients are narrow, and each patient must follow strict protocol before taking a fatal dose.
A patient must:
- Be a resident of Washington state.
- Be expected to die from an incurable illness within six months.
- Make an oral request for a lethal dose.
- Make a written request for a lethal dose at least 15 days after the initial oral request.
- Make a second written request for a lethal dose at least 48 hours after the second request.
- Make all requests in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom is not a relative or married to the patient, an employee of a health-care facility where the patient receives medical care, or a potential beneficiary of the patient's estate.
A doctor must:
- Encourage the patient to tell family members about his or her request for a lethal dose.
- Remind the patient, before writing the prescription, that he or she has the right to rescind a request for a lethal dose at any time.
- Ensure that the patient is of sound mind, and that the request for a lethal dose is not due to mental illness or depression.
- Personally deliver, mail or fax the prescription to a pharmacist.
- Sign a death certificate and indicate the patient's incurable illness as the cause of death.
Source: Washington state, Compassion & Choices, Death with Dignity National Center.
The law, approved by voters in November, officially became effective at 12:01 a.m.
Just one Snohomish County hospital, Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, plans to allow the practice to occur within its walls. Advocates of Death with Dignity say that's not meaningful because most terminally ill people spend their last days at home or in a nursing facility. Doctors can choose individually whether they will provide the service for their patients.
"We're hearing from doctors at hospitals that are opting out, and the doctors are saying they'll definitely participate," said Terry Barnett, board president for Compassion & Choices of Washington State, a group that supports Death with Dignity.
Guidelines for eligible patients are narrow, and each patient must follow strict protocol before taking a fatal dose.
A patient must:
- Be a resident of Washington state.
- Be expected to die from an incurable illness within six months.
- Make an oral request for a lethal dose.
- Make a written request for a lethal dose at least 15 days after the initial oral request.
- Make a second written request for a lethal dose at least 48 hours after the second request.
- Make all requests in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom is not a relative or married to the patient, an employee of a health-care facility where the patient receives medical care, or a potential beneficiary of the patient's estate.
A doctor must:
- Encourage the patient to tell family members about his or her request for a lethal dose.
- Remind the patient, before writing the prescription, that he or she has the right to rescind a request for a lethal dose at any time.
- Ensure that the patient is of sound mind, and that the request for a lethal dose is not due to mental illness or depression.
- Personally deliver, mail or fax the prescription to a pharmacist.
- Sign a death certificate and indicate the patient's incurable illness as the cause of death.
Source: Washington state, Compassion & Choices, Death with Dignity National Center.
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