Any Studies Claiming That Oregon's Law is Safe, are Invalid

Jeff Essmann

During a Montana legislative hearing in 2011, State Senator Jeff Essmann made the following observation about Oregon’s law, that any study claiming that it’s safe is invalid.  He observed:

[All] the protections end after the prescription is written.  [The proponents] admitted that the provisions in the Oregon law would permit one person to be alone in that room with the patient.  And in that situation, there is no guarantee that that medication is [taken on a voluntary basis].

Cat shrunk the initative

Prop. 106 (formally I-145) is an eleven page document issued by the State of Colorado.  See here for an offical copy.  The proponents, however feature a much smaller harder to read font version on their website, which is two pages shorter (9 pages long).  The proponents don't want the voters to see what it really says.

Physician-Assisted Suicide Traumatic for Family Members

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

In 2012, a European research study addressed trauma suffered by persons who witnessed legal assisted suicide in Switzerland.[1] The study found that one out of five family members or friends present at an assisted suicide was traumatized. These people,

experienced full or sub-threshold PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) related to the loss of a close person through assisted suicide.[2]

It Wasn't the Father Saying That he Wanted to Die

http://mtstandard.com/news/opinion/mailbag/don-t-make-washington-s-assisted-suicide-mistake/article_10022e80-8b75-11e2-b398-001a4bcf887a.html

My husband and I operate two adult family homes (elder care facilities) in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal. I am writing to urge you to not make Washington’s mistake.

Our assisted suicide law was enacted by a ballot measure in November 2008. During the election, the law was promoted as a right of individual people to make their own choices. That has not been our experience. We have also noticed a shift in the attitudes of doctors and nurses towards our typically elderly clients to eliminate their choices.

"If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"

Jeanette Hall and her son Scott in  November 2000

By Jeanette Hall

I live in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. Our law passed in 1997 by a ballot measure that I voted for.

In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had 6 months to a year to live.  I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing it. I tried to ask my doctor, Kenneth Stevens MD, but he didn’t really answer me. In hindsight, he was stalling me.

Brittany Maynard's Story Sends the Wrong Message to Young People

Will Johnston, MD

Dear Editor:

I agree with the Gazette editorial board that legal assisted suicide sends the wrong message to young people. ("Vote 'no' on more suicide," 09/26/16). I also write to describe the damaging impact of the highly publicized case of Brittany Maynard, on my young adult patient who became actively suicidal after watching her video. I understand that her story is now being used to promote assisted suicide legalization in Colorado.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board: "Vote 'No' on More Suicide"

http://gazette.com/editorial-vote-no-on-more-suicide/article/1586396

Proposition 106 would establish the assisted suicide trade for doctors willing to participate. An out-of-state special interest, funded mostly by billionaire George Soros, has marketed this measure as a form of compassion.

Suicide rates are a crisis in Colorado, and a poorly written plan to legitimize these tragedies raises big concerns.