Washington State Will Decide Legalization of Assisted Suicide

It is one of the most important ballot questions of the November 4 election. Will the state of Washington follow it’s neighbor, Oregon, to legalize assisted suicide through approval of I 1000? The battle has been fiercely waged with proponents of I 1000 raising four times the amount of funds.

Groups and individuals in Oregon have provided much of the funding to pass I 1000. Oregon is lonely, and wants company in allowing death by assisted suicide. But opponents in Oregon are not silent. Barbara Wagner is an Oregon woman whose oncologist prescribed chemotherapy to help prolong her life. Wagner was astonished when the Oregon Health Plan would not cover her treatment. Here’s the kicker — she was informed that the Plan would cover drugs for her assisted suicide.

Wagner is livid — and is transferring her anger to the voters of Washington State. Sadly, Wagner has died, but she lived long enough to create an ad being aired against I 1000 in Washington. In the ad, Wagner says: “They would pay to kill me but would not pay to give me the medication to try to stop the growth of my cancer. People of Washington, don’t vote this in.”

What does any of this have to do with us here in Wisconsin? Proponents of euthanasia have suffered numerous defeats since their big wins in Oregon in 1994 and 1997. They have subsequently lost in Michigan, Maine, Vermont, Hawaii and California (either ballot measures or legislation). They are desperate for a win and hand-picked Washington where a win could propel their cause across the nation.

Remember, it was just a few short months ago that a Wisconsin State Senate committee had a public hearing on a Wisconsin bill to legalize assisted suicide.

On election night, keep your eyes on Washington State and I 1000.

Barbara Lyons