1st To Die in New WA State Suicide Law

In November 2008, Washington State became the second state in the United States to allow for doctor-assisted suicide. The first was Oregon, which has had this law since 1997. Currently, a third state, Montana, has such a law as well, but it’s before the Montana Supreme Court for final judgment.

According to this article, Washington state to enact assisted suicide law , written earlier this year, this law allows for “aided dying,” not “euthanasia” or “assisted suicide”:

“Aided dying is neither euthanasia nor suicide,” said Terry Barnett, president of the Washington branch of Compassion & Choices advocacy group.

“It’s not euthanasia because euthanasia implies action by a physician to end a patient’s life. It’s not suicide because people who choose aid in dying are not choosing to end their lives.

“They don’t want to die — they’re choosing to end suffering that cannot be relieved and suffering that they are experiencing that is worse than death.”

The law is called the Death With Dignity Act .

The person at the center of this, the first one to die under this new law, is Linda Fleming, a 66-year-old who had been living with late-stage, terminal, pancreatic cancer. She made this choice when she was still able to with a clear mind and the ability to make her wishes known.

Death under these circumstances is rarely easy and for those who fear that people who believe in laws like this are rejoicing – I doubt it. While they may be grateful that Ms Fleming was given this opportunity, it’s never a good thing to see someone die.

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