Washington will likely be the second state in the nation to allow terminally ill people to take their own lives using lethal medicine provided by their doctors.
Initiative 1000, coined the “Death with Dignity Act” by supporters, took about 56 percent of the vote Tuesday, with about one third of the expected statewide ballot total counted.
“We feel pretty good about these numbers,” said Anne Martens, spokeswoman for Yes on 1000, the organization backing the initiative. “I’m just happy that Washington voters have given terminally ill people this choice.”
Opponents of the initiative said they concede that voters have approved I-1000, but said the fight against physician-assisted suicide isn’t over.
“We’re not conceding on the issue, and we won’t ever do that,” said Eileen Geller, a campaign coordinator for the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide.
Geller said her group plans to find ways to protect vulnerable people, including the terminally ill and their families, who could be hurt by the new law.
The initiative gives people with six months or less to live the option to commit suicide with a fast-acting drug. Supporters say the act gives people an option to avoid prolonged suffering and legally end their own lives. Opponents say the act threatens the sanctity of life and leaves the poor and other vulnerable people at risk of being pressured to commit suicide.
Former Gov. Booth Gardner authored the initiative. Gardner suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and would not qualify to request physician-assisted suicide.
Reports over the past year that Gardner hoped to expand the law to include people who, like himself, suffer from debilitating illnesses, are false, Martens said.
“Our goal was always to give patients a choice, and this law does that,” she said.
The initiative brought a starkly personal note to election season, as advocates shared stories of loved ones whose deaths were painful and drawn-out.
Opponents argued with their own stories about people who cherished months spent in the comfort of family and friends. They also said that modern medicine can control pain and offer peace in dying days. Supporters said that many people are in excruciating pain when they die, and many who aren’t are too drugged to enjoy the presence of their families.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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