Constitutional Law

Washington's Death with Dignity Act Takes Effect

Amid protests, Washington has become the second state to legalize physician-assisted suicide today. Approved overwhelmingly by voters in November, The Seattle Times reports that Initiative 1000 was closely modeled on 'Oregon's decade-old law allowing physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients determined to have six months or less to live.'

The law sets further limitations on potential assisted suicides in addition to short life expectancy. A patient must be an adult, mentally competent, and they must self-administer the lethal prescription. The law also included an opt-out clause, permitting hospitals not to participate for any reason – religious or otherwise.

Since passed, the law has sent health-care facilities scrambling to put appropriate policies into place. About one third of hospitals in the state are participating, permitting individual employees to determine whether they are involved in an assisted suicide. One third of medical facilities are refusing to permit employee participation, while the remaining third are finding a middle ground, such as permitting lethal prescriptions to outpatients, but banning them from taking the prescriptions on the premises.

Washington becomes the first state in the country to legal 'death with dignity' since the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling that states had such a right.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on March 05, 2009 (boomark / email).