X-Message-Number: 8721 Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 10:55:56 -0700 From: David Brandt-Erichsen <> Subject: More on Oregon Abridged from the PORTLAND OREGONIAN (Weds Nov 5/97; page one)' SUICIDE LAW STANDS Voters reject Measure 51, which would have repealed doctor-assisted suicide Gail Kinsey Hill of The Oregonian staff Oregon voters Tuesday strongly reaffirmed their support of doctor-assisted suicide on the same day the state attorney general's office said the original law is now in effect. The vote and the legal interpretation mean a person who is mentally competent and diagnosed as having less than six months to live could request a lethal prescription from a doctor today, wait the required 15 days, then take the drugs. David Schuman,*cq. Oregon's deputy attorney general, determined Tuesday afternoon that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals more than a week ago had lifted an injunction keeping Measure 16 from going into effect. Although the law is in effect, Lee said she did not expect a terminally ill patient to request a lethal prescription immediately. "To think that people are waiting with bated breath to take advantage of this is a sensationalist way of looking at this," Lee said. "This is a very personal and private thing. This is not something people know about. It's just not a public event." A second legal challenge is expected, but assisted-suicide opponents were not discussing specifics Tuesday night. James Bopp, the lawyer for plaintiffs in the lawsuit and an attorney for National Right to Life, said he might file another lawsuit on behalf of "a son or daughter who has a mother or father who is terminally ill, depressed and suicidal." Bopp also refiled his original lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene. That is where U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan, who granted the injunction, presides. In addition to the courts, attention focuses on the Oregon medical field, which will be responsible for implementing the doctor-assisted suicide law. Also, the Legislature might hold a special session to refine the law. Dr. Katrina Hedburg, deputy state epidemiologist, said the Oregon Health Division is ready to file emergency rules this week that were written after the 1994 election, including tracking prescriptions and whether they are used. The Oregon Board of Medical Examiners will oversee physician compliance with the law. Patients or families with concerns can contact the board, executive director Kathleen Haley said. A 25-member task force of hospital and health plan leaders, medical organizations and ethics experts, formed after the 1994 election, probably will field some of the most difficult questions. The Legislature could meet to refine the law, but a special session would be necessary to gather before the regular session convenes in January 1999. "We've had some very preliminary discussions" about a special session, said Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass. But "it would not be to overturn what voters intended. It would be to implement (the law) in a way they decided through the ballot box." Gov. John Kitzhaber might agree to a special session if the Republican-controlled House and Senate developed a plan with majority support, a spokesman for Kitzhaber said. Kitzhaber, a Democrat, opposed repeal. But he has said some of the law's provisions need clarification. For example, residency requirements should be more tightly defined, and more guidelines should be developed for determinations of mental competence, he said. Some lawmakers who led the push for the repeal referral said changes would be difficult. "It's hard overturning the will of the people," said Sen. Marylin Shannon, R-Brooks. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8721