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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Assisted-Suicide Debate Nears Oregon Showdown

Brad Cain Associated Press

As the Measure 51 campaign gains in intensity, backers of the repeal of Oregon’s assisted-suicide law proudly point to endorsements they have received from groups representing doctors, seniors and the disabled.

But assisted-suicide supporters say those groups are out of touch with the voters. They note that polls show a majority of Oregonians don’t want to repeal the state’s 1994 law allowing the terminally ill to legally obtain suicide drugs.

The 1997 Legislature decided to send the assisted-suicide issue back to voters Nov. 4 after an intense lobbying campaign by the Oregon Catholic Conference and Oregon Right to Life.

Trish Conrad, director of the Yes on 51 Campaign, says the broad-based nature of the groups that support Measure 51 shows that it’s not just Catholics or right-to-life groups that oppose the 1994 suicide law.

The groups supporting Measure 51 include the Oregon Medical Association, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, the Oregon Hospice Association, the Oregon State Council of Senior Citizens and the disabled rights group called Not Dead Yet, Conrad said.

The medical community isn’t unanimous on the subject, however.

The Oregon Psychiatric Association hasn’t been able to agree on a stand on the issue. And despite the Oregon Medical Association’s support for the repeal, a group of several hundred Oregon doctors calling themselves Physicians for Death with Dignity are urging rejection of Measure 51.

In any case, Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said he’s not sure endorsements will change anybody’s opinion.

“I think people will make up their own mind on this issue, regardless of the position of elected officials, organizations, the news media or any particular church,” Hibbitts said.

A poll recently conducted by Hibbitts’ Portland firm showed that six in 10 Oregonians support the state’s controversial assisted-suicide law and don’t want to see it repealed in November.

In the 1994 campaign, Catholic organizations and right-to-life groups accounted for more than three-fourths of the money raised for the unsuccessful campaign to defeat assisted suicide.

Those two groups are expected to be the major contributors again when the first spending reports for the Measure 51 campaign come in Oct. 6.

Conrad says that’s only because the church “happens to have the financial resources to support their position.”

“If this were just a Catholic issue or a right to life issue, many of these other groups would not be on board” supporting the repeal, she said.

Barbara Coombs Lee, chief petitioner for the 1994 assisted-suicide law who’s leading the fight against the repeal, said the repeal is being led by “anti-liberty” groups who oppose assisted suicide on moral and religious grounds.

Coombs Lee also takes aim at the Oregon Medical Association and other medical groups that are supporting the repeal.

The issue also has caused divisions within Oregon’s political community.

Gov. John Kitzhaber has joined the ranks of those who say the terminally ill should be allowed to decide how they want to die. He said that as a former emergency room physician, his view is that it’s inhumane to pro long a terminally ill person’s death.

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield supports a repeal of assisted suicide. The Oregon Republican, who retired in January, said the “numerous flaws” in the assisted-suicide law “outweigh any potential relief for the terminally ill.”