Assisted suicide not good medicine

Published 6:13 pm Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Nancy Niedzielski’s claim that Oregon has proven that their assisted suicide law does not cause coercion is incorrect (“Show compassion and end suffering,” Letters, Sept. 24). Assisted suicide in Oregon is so lacking in transparency that whatever coercion or abuse occurs would never come to light. Recently, The Oregonian, which has long supported Oregon’s law, came out against I-1000, noting that “a coterie of insiders run the program, with a handful of doctors and others deciding what the public may know.” The Oregonian’s advice to Washington voters: “Don’t go there.” I-1000 requires that the physician falsely note the cause of death as the underlying illness, not as assisted suicide. There is no requirement that the death be witnessed. One of the two witnesses to the request for medication can be a person who directly benefits from the patient’s death.

I-1000 is opposed by the Washington State Medical Association.

Assisted suicide is opposed by state medical associations in 49 states. After Oregon adopted their version of assisted suicide, the Oregon State Medical Association (which was initially neutral on the issue) supported a repeal. I-1000 is not good medicine.

Theresa Schrempp

Seattle