Washington state is about to legalize "Death with Dignity"

Another move forwards for proponents of the Right to Die. The state of Washington is about to allow 'Death with Dignity' which, after plenty of red tape and procedural complications, will finally allow terminally-ill patients to end their lives sooner and avoid unnecessary pain and torment.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in Washington state.

However, the legality isn't the real issue at stake here, as the article then goes on about how doctors, for reasons either personal or professional, are disinclined to end a patient's life even if it's really in that patient's best interest.

But even though the "Death with Dignity" law takes effect Thursday, people who might seek the life-ending prescriptions could find their doctors conflicted or not willing to write them.

Many doctors are hesitant to talk publicly about where they stand on the issue, said Dr. Tom Preston, a retired cardiologist and board member of Compassion & Choices, the group that campaigned for and supports the law.

"There are a lot of doctors, who in principle, would approve or don't mind this, but for a lot of social or professional reasons, they don't want to be involved," he said.

Of course I perfectly understand how some doctors would be hesitant or simply refusing to end a patient's life if that doctor is simply too put-off by the idea of killing someone; hell, even if one of my loved ones were ailing and dying, I know I would want to end their sufferings, but more likely than not I'd have some serious hesitation issues with terminally ending their life. It's plain human nature: normal people don't like to kill, even if it's theoretically in the 'victim''s best interest.

I can just hope, of course, that most doctors are able to overlook and overcome this initial disturbance and hesitation, and are able to let reason shine through: they're not killing them per se; they truly are helping them. (Plus, this isn't even a rationalization, it's plain and simple truth.)

The vigors for finally being eligeable for this ending-of-life thing are rather lengthy and tedious, though.

Under the Washington law, any patient requesting fatal medication must be at least 18 years old, declared competent and a state resident. The patient would have to make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and submit a written request witnessed by two people, one of which must not be a relative, heir, attending doctor, or connected with a health facility where the requester lives.

Two doctors must certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live.

I understand one has to be absolutely certain that the want to die so it's not just some stupid passing whim, and that they have to be terminal, but really, those regulations just seem a bit excessive to me. Agreed with the two statements and having at least one witness, along with of course a confirmed diagnosis and 'window-of-life-left', but that's really where I'd stop it. Just one reliable witness and one credible doctor's diagnosis seems perfectly enough to me. I'd also eliminate the 'limit' on the six-months-left-to-live bit; what if the patient has more than six months left, but is gonna be in pain and torment long before? There seems to be a logical fallacy here.

I understand the necessity of boundful protections and clauses ... This though, I'm less lenient towards.

Under the Oregon and Washington laws, physicians and pharmacists are not required to write or fill lethal prescriptions if they are opposed to the law. Some Washington hospitals are opting out of participation, which precludes their doctors from participating on hospital property.

I can understand individual doctors and practitioners refusing to end patients' lives, but when entire hospitals say 'no', I call 'bullshit'. It's the choice of the patient and the individuals who may be involved in the willful dying, not the establishment's. Imagine Right-to-Die being legal in your state and you're a perfectly fit patient for that and you wish to die, yet you're in the wrong hospital due to chances outside your control ... That's ridiculous.

(And anyway, how the hell can a hospital say 'no' to state legislation? I didn't know hospitals were of any authority when it came to state-wide law, so either this is illegal on their part and I wish them to be bitchslapped, or this is legal, and I'm dumbfounded.)