X-Message-Number: 8184 Date: Tue, 06 May 1997 18:57:32 -0700 From: David Brandt-Erichsen <> Subject: Oregon update I just returned from vacation and can provide the following update: Abridged from the PORTLAND OREGONIAN, May 3, 1997 SUICIDE LAW CLOSER TO RETURNING TO BALLOT MARK O'KEEFE - of the Oregonian Staff Summary: A bill passed by a House committee would send 1994's Measure 16 back to the voters, possibly in November Voters approved Oregon's doctor- assisted suicide law in 1994. Surveys show they continue to support it. Nevertheless, Measure 16 would go back to the ballot under a bill approved by a House committee Friday. The 6-4 vote after a raucous work session of the House Judiciary Committee revealed the depth of emotion felt on both sides. Although a possible election is six months away, opponents and proponents have launched a war of words, fund raising and political pressure, with campaign strategies in place. Because Oregon could be the first state to allow doctor-assisted suicide, it is seen as a laboratory of national importance. House Bill 2954 is expected to reach the House floor in about two weeks, where the vote is seen as close, with increasing momentum to opponents of assisted suicide . If it passes the House, the more conservative Senate is likely to approve it. Bills that refer issues to the voters bypass the governor and a potential veto. When assisted suicide would return to the ballot is in doubt, but the Legislature is considering a special election this November. The 1994 assisted suicide law has not gone into effect because of a legal challenge. That will be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, possibly in a few months, perhaps more than a year. The 1994 measure remains a law, whether under legal appeal or facing a second popular vote. Legislators seem most concerned about a finding that didn't emerge until after the 1994 election. According to studies in the Netherlands, where assisted suicide and euthanasia long have been practiced, about 25 percent of patients endure lingering deaths of three hours to several days when taking oral medication alone. Patients are rarely in pain during this time. But families sometimes panic as unconscious loved ones convulse, snort and breathe loudly instead of dying instantly as expected. Dutch doctors can ensure death with a lethal injection. In Oregon, Measure 16 prohibits injections [by others] and allows doctors only to prescribe, not to administer, medication. Rep. Ron Sunseri, R-Gresham, chair of a subcommittee that initiated the referral, was criticized Friday for a statement made weeks earlier that there would be no repeal or referral of Measure 16. On Sunday, Oregon Right to Die ran a full-page newspaper ad in The Oregonian accusing Sunseri and other legislators of trying to thwart the will of the voters. It has released an April survey showing Oregonians less likely to re-elect a state legislator who passed a law making people vote a second time on Measure 16. Oregon Right to Die's survey shows 62 percent would vote against repealing Measure 16 even when told the medication can take as long as a day to work. State and national surveys have shown strong support for assisted suicide in general. But opponents of Measure 16 find hope in their own survey, which showed 61 percent saying, "We now need a new vote on Measure 16." Oregonians said that, however, after being told a laundry list of problems with the law. Opponents also got a boost Sunday when the Oregon Medical Association, previously neutral on Measure 16, opposed it. "Two years ago, this was a new issue," said Gayle Atteberry, executive director of Oregon Right to Life. "It's very obvious after going through these legislative hearings that all pertinent information wasn't known by the voters. What is the matter with going back to the voters and giving them a fully-informed opportunity to make another decision?" In 1994, opponents outspent proponents by about a 2-to-1 ratio. In April, opponents formed the Repeal Measure 16 Committee with a more aggressive campaign in mind. It will be led by Mark Kelly, credited with helping Gordon Smith win election to the U.S. Senate, and Chuck Cavalier, who orchestrated a hard-hitting campaign to defeat an assisted suicide measure on the 1992 California ballot. "This is a national fund-raising campaign," said Brooke Bodney, finance director of the Repeal Measure 16 committee. "Oregon is the litmus test to see if this issue has the ability to expand the country." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8184