.~Javier Plumey~.|Fatih, Technology, Politics, Whatever.

Via the Seattle Times:

Voters approved Initiative 1000 on Tuesday, making Washington the
second state to give terminally ill people the option of medically
assisted suicide.

The ballot measure, patterned after Oregon’s “Death with Dignity”
law, allows a terminally ill person to be prescribed lethal medication,
which would be self-administered.

…

Opponents, including the Catholic church, said assisted suicide is a
dangerous step that devalues human life. Critics also said the assisted
suicide measure could exploit depressed or vulnerable people who worry
they’ve become a burden on their families.

The measure involved a multimillion-dollar campaign, including TV
advertisements featuring actor Martin Sheen, who urged a “no” vote. But
polling before Election Day showed I-1000 with significant support.

…

Forty-nine people died in Oregon last year under that state’s
assisted suicide law, according to a report by the Oregon Department of
Human Services. Since it went into effect, more than 340 Oregon
patients have used the law to end their lives.

Most suffered from cancer, and the most common reasons reported for
choosing assisted suicide were loss of autonomy, loss of dignity and a
decreasing ability to participate in activities they enjoyed.

The interesting thing about this law is that it has to be self-administered. So the doctors decide if a patient should be allowed to do it, but in the end, the patient has to do it anyway.

This is medically irresponsible. Doctors who take the Hippocratic Oath should be ashamed that they would rather give up on a patient than try to nurture them.  Sure, anyone can choose to end their life, but doctors should not be mandated to allow their patients to do so under their care.

Mike Dingus, a 39-year-old long-term care worker in Yakima, voted “yes.”

“You don’t get much choice coming in, so you should get some choice going out,” Dingus said.

A completely irrelevant argument that highlights ignorance on the gift and blessing that is life.