Oregon takes stock of 'right to die' law
292 patients have died with aid of physicians since the law went into effect in 1998, new figures show.
from the March 12, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
But in an amicus brief filed in one of the Supreme Court cases, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, and the American Psychiatric Association warned that "physician-assisted suicide would create profound danger for many ill persons with undiagnosed depression and inadequately treated pain, for whom physician-assisted suicide rather than good palliative care could become the norm."
Past attempts to follow Oregon's lead in California and other states have failed.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) wants the issue to go to the voters rather than through lawmakers. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) says the proposal there violates the Hippocratic oath, which says "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect."
"There's no question that this topic stirs a lot emotion and a lot of debate," California Assembly Speaker Nunez said during a news conference announcing the proposed "California Compassionate Choices Act" last month. "I think when you pare it down to its essence, however, this is about how people are going to live the last days of their life."
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