Fight to Live or Right To Die?

Say euthanasia and be prepared for The Great Debate.

That’s what’s happening in Washington state right now where death-with-dignity proponents are trying to get a euthanasia measure on the November ballot. It would permit physicians to “prescribe lethal doses of narcotics to terminally ill patients who want to end their own lives,” according to Time magazine.

About a week ago, a survey conducted by ELDR Magazine, a publication for seniors, found that 80 percent of the 1,070 people polled believe in death with dignity. Two-thirds supported laws similar to Oregon’s, which allows physician-assisted suicide. Even so, it looks like an uphill battle for the right-to-die proponents. Similar measures have been defeated repeatedly around the nation, including in Washington in 1992.

Opponents of voluntary euthanasia argue that proposed laws don’t require an exam by a psychiatrist to rule out depression, and that such laws put pressure on women, minorities, the disabled and the poor to avoid being financial and emotional burdens on their families.

Years ago, I wrote a series of stories on this issue and talked to both sides.

One woman was most memorable. Though she never smoked, this woman suffered from COPD for years and the side effects of the necessary steroids had become too much. She wasn’t terminally ill but she endured the chronic pain of severe osteoporosis and was housebound because of it. She so missed the global traveling she had done with her late husband and trips to the theater with friends. She never said, “I want to die,” but told me that she wanted the option available when the pain could not be quelled, and that her adult children concurred with her philosophically.

A few weeks later, I read that this woman was the 99th person to seek Kevorkian’s help.

I also had a friend who had an agreement with his doctor that when death from cancer was perhaps a few days away, the doctor would administer that extra-large dose of morphine. The doctor kept his promise.

I can’t blame either for wanting to end the pain. They were both fighters, but quality of life was important. They endured as long as they could. Neither made the decision lightly or because of depression.

How do you feel about physician-assisted suicide?

Do you think we should have the right to decide when we want to go?

Has anyone ever asked you to help them die?

Tell us what you think.