Former Governor's Death With Dignity Initiative
Booth Gardner, former Washington State Governor is campaigning to have physician-assisted suicide legalized in Washington State. Since the New York Times published an article on his initiative the same week the healthpolicymaven posted an article about palliative care and medical directives, a closer look at the ramifications of the proposed legislation follows. Gardner is traveling throughout the state soliciting support for an Oregon style assisted suicide law, which would allow physicians to provide patients with suicide medication dosing under very specific circumstances. A similar measure was put before Washington voters in 1991 and defeated by 54% of the voters. Though suicide is legal in Washington, physician aided death is not. Here are the provisions for the proposed Death with Dignity referendum if it copies Oregon State Law: -Permits legally competent patients who are at least eighteen years of age, state residents, and who suffer from a terminal disease, to obtain lethal pr...