Ruling Helps State’s Needy, Says Gregoire Doctor-Assisted-Suicide Ruling Draws Mixed Reaction

In upholding Washington’s ban on doctor-assisted suicide, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the state’s interest in protecting the young, elderly and disabled, Attorney General Christine Gregoire said Thursday.

The nation’s high court rejected challenges to laws in Washington state and New York that make it a crime for doctors to give life-ending drugs to mentally competent but terminally ill patients who no longer want to live.

“Probably the most important argument we made was this is a decision to be made by the citizens of Washington through the initiative process or the Legislature,” Gregoire said in a telephone interview from Wyoming, where she’s attending a conference of attorneys general. “To do otherwise would reverse centuries of legal doctrine.

“That doesn’t mean that 50 years from now, the court might reach a different conclusion based on what the state’s policy choices have been over time,” she added. “But at this point, based on the history and tradition of this country, the court is not about to reverse that history and tradition and policy of our state.”

In Spokane, the ruling was both celebrated and mourned.

Anne Koepsell, director of Hospice of Spokane, applauded the court’s decision and said she hopes people focus on making dying more comfortable.

“That’s the real issue, is people’s fear of being in pain, or being isolated and left alone to die. If you meet those needs, people don’t feel compelled to look into physician-assisted suicide.”

But supporters vowed to keep fighting.

“I don’t think it’s an issue that’s going to go away,” said Betty Drumheller, a Democratic activist who lives in Deer Park.

A year ago, Drumheller asked the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane for permission to use their premises for assisted suicide if she lost her battle with leukemia.

The church delayed a final decision, said Drumheller, whose leukemia is in remission.

Rob Neils, a Spokane psychologist who leads a group of assisted-suicide supporters, said Dying Well Network will meet to decide what to do next.

Will members continue giving out information on assisted suicide and meeting with people considering it?

“It took some wind out of our sails, but the course is still set,” said Neils, author of the 1997 book, “Death With Dignity FAQS: Frequently Asked Questions.”

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff and wire reports Staff writer Jeanette White contributed to this report.