Death initiative petitions filed

"Death with Dignity" laws have always raised constitutional controversy, but Oregon's law has been upheld so far. Now Washington State may have a similar law, if the voters approve it. To see what WA State will have on the ballot in November, click below.

Death initiative petitions filed Seattle Times Newspaper

From the article, the following information was presented:

Modeled on Oregon's current law

*Would allow mentally competent adult residents of Washington to request and receive a prescription for a lethal dose of medication, provided that they have been diagnosed with a condition that is expected to kill them within six months.

*The request must be confirmed by two independent witnesses, a second doctor must confirm the original diagnosis, and the patient must be determined to be free from any mental condition impairing his judgment. The patient must make two requests separated in time by at least 15 days.

*Would not allow patients to sign away the decision to anyone else in the event they were to become mentally incompetent, or to give permission to anyone else to administer the medication if they became unable to do so. In short, they must make the request and take the lethal medicine themselves. Any doctor or health-care organization can opt out of providing the services.

*Law would specifically say: "Actions taken in accordance with this act do not, for any purpose, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing, or homicide, under the law."

There are two major groups on opposing sides of the issue:

Yes on 1000: http://www.yeson1000.org/
Coalition Against Assisted Suicide: noassistedsuicide.com