November 21, 2008
- Yakima, Washington 29
Assisted Suicide Initiative on November Ballot
By Rudabeh Shahbazi
KENNEWICK-- Oregonians legalized assisted suicide a decade ago. Now, Washington may be the second state in the country to allow terminal patients to expedite their death.
"I suppose if they made you a zombie, that they could take away all your humanity in order to relieve you of pain, put you in a coma practically," said Ginger Vetrano, who gathered signatures around the Tri-Cities to put the initiative on the ballot. Initiative 1000, better known as "Death With Dignity," boils down to a sick person's right to choose when he or she wants to die. It would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal prescription to patients with six months or less to live. "It's something I would want for myself and my mother and anybody else I loved," said Vetrano. If it passed, two doctors would have to independently verify that the patient is mentally competent to make the decision, and that no one has coerced him or her to choose to die early. Vetrano says it's a question of choice. "I think we're all autonomous people," she said. "I wouldn't want to make the decision for you, and I hope you wouldn't want to make the decision for me." The proposed law is controversial, especially among the religious community. Father Perron Auve, a Catholic priest at the Parish of the Holy Spirit, says it's a slippery slope when people play God. "I think it makes choices more difficult for people who are suffering greatly and who lose hope, who are going through a great deal of pain, and don't have the protection that the law gives," said Auve. "By making this available, it's an additional temptation to do it that wouldn't be there otherwise." Supporters of the initiative say it's best to let suffering people go in a dignified manner. Opponents say the fact that a person is dying, does not mean his or her life is meaningless. "When a person is near death, this is a time when life is very rich because of the love and care that surrounds them," said Auve. |
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