X-Message-Number: 7805
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 1997 11:08:52 -0700
From: David Brandt-Erichsen <>
Subject: Oregon update

This is the first statement I've seen that Oregon Measure 16 MAY go into
effect this April.  We'll have to wait and see.

        From the Portland Oregonian, March 2 (abbreviated)

        OREGON REVISITS ASSISTED SUICIDE
        by MARK O'KEEFE and TOM BATES - of the Oregonian Staff

        Summary: But exactly who -- legislators, voters or courts -- will
        do what -- reform or repeal -- remains unclear

        In the aftermath of Thursday's federal appeals court ruling
        allowing Oregon's stalled doctor- assisted suicide law to go into
        effect, perhaps as early as April, state lawmakers are scrambling
        to make the next move.

        One strongly supported bill would send the issue back to voters,
        asking them to decide again in the light of new information.
        "I think this is serious enough to take a second look," said Sen.
        Marylin Shannon, R-Brooks.

        Others call second-guessing the voters on Measure 16 a dangerous
        mistake.

        "I know they think there is potential for abuse," said Senate
        Majority Leader Gene Derfler, R-Salem. "But it's not going to
        happen, in my opinion. I think the safeguards are adequate, and if
        they aren't, we can fix them."

        At the beginning of last week, state lawmakers thought they could
        take their time tinkering with Measure 16 this session. A federal
        judge in Eugene had put the Oregon law on hold, and the U.S.
        Supreme Court wasn't expected to rule until July on two related
        cases from other states.

        But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco forced
        the issue. It allowed the stalled suicide law to go into effect,
        meaning terminally ill Oregonians could begin taking lethal doses
        of medication as early as April, if a higher court or the
        Legislature doesn't intervene quickly.

        Suddenly, seven bills dealing with assisted suicide have taken on
        a new urgency. It appears there aren't enough votes in the
        Republican-controlled Legislature to overturn the 1994 vote, as
        groups such as the Oregon Catholic Conference and Oregon Right to
        Life advocate.

        But a bipartisan effort to refer the issue back to voters, perhaps
        as early as May, appears to have growing support.

        Measure 16 supporters see the legislative assault as a last-ditch
        attempt to foil the will of the people now that efforts to stop
        assisted suicide through the courts appear doomed.

        Clara Shaw, 73, of Portland is one of the supporters. She already
        has asked her doctor to help her die if she becomes hopelessly
        ill.

        "I'm getting to the point where I'm going to start throwing my
        ballot in the wastebasket," Shaw said, "because it doesn't mean
        anything. They change everything."


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