Assisted Suicide News Abounds

Here’s the latest from Oregon, the only state that has legalized assisted suicide and which is continually showcased as a model for how to go about crafting a law. The main spin of the proponents of assisted suicide is that we can allow people to “die with dignity” and protect them by establishing “safeguards” to eliminate abuse.

Not so fast on the safeguards. Barbara Wagner of Oregon tried to fill a prescription for a drug to treat her lung cancer. Payment for her prescription was denied by the Oregon State Health Plan. But, they informed her in their written response that they would cover her palliative care — including assisted suicide!

Wagner was stunned. “To say to someone, we’ll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it’s cruel,” she said.

July 3 is the magic date when proponents of “I 1000” in Washington State have to submit 225,000 valid signatures to place a measure to legalize assisted suicide in that state on the November 4 ballot. Of course, “I 1000” mirrors the law with supposed “safeguards” now in effect in Oregon. And, much of the funding for the initiative has come from — you guessed it — Oregon.

In Great Britain, a woman seeking assisted suicide has won an initial court request which forces British prosecutors to state whether they would charge the woman’s husband with assisted suicide for accompanying her to Switzerland where the deadly act would take place.

A British film entitled “I made it look like they died in their sleep” forced filmmaker Jon Ronson to examine his own position on assisted suicide which he now opposes. Assisted suicide advocate George Exoo, the subject of the film, claims that he has been involved in 102 suicide deaths. Most of his victims were not even terminally ill, many needing psychiatric help for depression.

Exoo explains to Ronson that “I’m always careful and I always work quietly, like the Lone Ranger. I do so generally at night and for the most part I make it look like they just died in their sleep. I’ll prop a book up on their lap so it looks like they just expired.” An assistant trained by Exoo says, “George sees it as a calling. There’s a big difference there. For me, it’s No Cash, No help.” She charges $7,000 for an assisted suicide.

Barbara Lyons