Do the Terminally Ill Have a Right to Die?

Recommend (4) Comments (2)

For more than a decade, Oregon has been the only state to provide clear procedures by which doctors can help end their dying patients' pain and suffering while protecting themselves from criminal prosecution.

Oregon doctors are permitted to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to a mentally competent, terminally ill patient who makes written and oral requests, consults two physicians, and endures a mandatory waiting period. The patient's free choice is paramount throughout this process. Neither relatives nor doctors can apply on the patient's behalf, and the patient himself administers the lethal dose.

Elsewhere in America, however, the political influence of religious conservatism has thwarted passage of similar legislation. This has left terminal patients with nothing but a macabre menu of frightening, painful, and often violent end-of-life techniques universally regarded as too inhumane for use on sick dogs or mass murderers.

Other states should emulate Oregon’s enlightened legislation. It’s encouraging that voters in the State of Washington recently approved a ballot initiative for an Oregon-type law, and a Montana judge has ruled that the state’s constitution protects doctor-assisted suicide. Although further reform would be needed to address all legal the issues raised by an adult’s choice to commit suicide, the Oregon approach is a vital first step toward expunging religion and upholding rational individualism in this important area of American law.