Washington State Legalizes Assisted Suicide

[trotsky]

As of yesterday, Thursday 5th March, terminally ill patients in Washington State can invoke a new assisted suicide law called the Death with Dignity Act which allows them to ask for a lethal prescription from their doctor if they have less than six months to live.

Washington's new law is based on a similar one introduced in Oregon ten years ago, where last year 60 patients made use of it. That is the highest number in a year since the law came into force in 1997, reports the NWPR news service of Washington State University.

Source: Medical News today

I hope more states will follow. This is a decision everyone should be free to make for themselves.

[Heddi]

1. This is great

My hospital (a teaching hospital) and it's university affiliate hospital and MD groups are the only hospitals in the greater Seattle area that are taking part of this. The hospital my husband works at is partly owned by a private company that has several religious-based hospitals and they have decided to bow-out, as have every other large hospital (besides mine and the university hospital associated with it) in Seattle, and areas to the north, south, and east of SEattle. Which is a real fucking shame. God forbid we let people make decisions about death

[xchrom]

2. recommend -- that end of my days -- i might have a little dignity in my death. nt