tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17634989987672745592024-03-11T19:11:00.852-05:00KansasA non-profit corporation opposed to assisted suicide, euthanasia and other forms of imposed death, worldwideUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-26245862849213863762020-06-01T04:49:00.002-05:002020-06-01T05:26:26.040-05:00Legislature Adjourns Following Suspension; HB 2089 Presumed Dead<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y6O2V14V0wfFaUZRViih9rCBj4tTcnsSokLI92ba71eEJa8t_cpqk1cyxtZkcJjtreBm_k7RiCuYzYx94XZrNR6ua-E1eWYiZD5qxnXY942bbkQg6GcD-4sbUVytOdWTBzcAhtMRPZQ/s1600/Seal_of_Kansas.svg+150+x+150.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y6O2V14V0wfFaUZRViih9rCBj4tTcnsSokLI92ba71eEJa8t_cpqk1cyxtZkcJjtreBm_k7RiCuYzYx94XZrNR6ua-E1eWYiZD5qxnXY942bbkQg6GcD-4sbUVytOdWTBzcAhtMRPZQ/s1600/Seal_of_Kansas.svg+150+x+150.png" /></a>On May 21, 2020, the Kansas State Legislature reconvened for one day and then adjourned subsequent to action having been suspended due to the COVID-19 virus.<br />
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No action was taken on the proposed assisted suicide/euthanasia bill, <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2019_20/measures/documents/hb2089_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">HB 2089</a>, which is now presumably dead. Barring a special session, the Legislature <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/historical/" target="_blank">is adjourned until January 11, 2021</a>.<br />
<br />Admin CIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04645356679534667319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-14462569402079807052020-03-26T16:14:00.000-05:002020-06-01T05:17:00.914-05:00Assisted Suicide Bill Introduced in State Legislature<div style="text-align: right;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyswCsrve1GBMHhPTcIyDeRr1gNltrJVCwScKoGi3FQ44XQBBtQBGCKVBW_pb1IbjYSVlXdmEhOn-Ntr34COD7gz9CTAOW6JJSb6q6BRwR0Va7AaGq9EFhRioUKSMK-OSs6JMD3g9DLNk/s1600/state+capitol+with+tulips+120+x+180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyswCsrve1GBMHhPTcIyDeRr1gNltrJVCwScKoGi3FQ44XQBBtQBGCKVBW_pb1IbjYSVlXdmEhOn-Ntr34COD7gz9CTAOW6JJSb6q6BRwR0Va7AaGq9EFhRioUKSMK-OSs6JMD3g9DLNk/s1600/state+capitol+with+tulips+120+x+180.jpg" /></a>On January 28, 2019, Bill <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2019_20/measures/hb2089/">HB 2089</a>, seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia, was introduced in the House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.<br />
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There been no activity thus far during the 2019/2020 legislative session.<br />
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The read the content of the bill <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2019_20/measures/documents/hb2089_00_0000.pdf">click here</a>.<br />
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<br />Admin CIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04645356679534667319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-50066339478000889552018-09-08T19:05:00.011-05:002020-11-12T16:23:21.750-06:00Wrong On Suicide: The Letter the Kansas City Star Refused to Print<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4v2PCpD6d_-tb9KsqpqbVlpjUMcGozv7f29R9Hlcy-RIVgtOwh7_RqxQzOS51fPrd4XMVpk1l7r8PZ3Gc_tDR37GZp7bxcf7HkYUURzP9tdENucLdidbmfgXYntE-yxYqN_xDoVpBGk4/s100/kansas-city-star-logo-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4v2PCpD6d_-tb9KsqpqbVlpjUMcGozv7f29R9Hlcy-RIVgtOwh7_RqxQzOS51fPrd4XMVpk1l7r8PZ3Gc_tDR37GZp7bxcf7HkYUURzP9tdENucLdidbmfgXYntE-yxYqN_xDoVpBGk4/s0/kansas-city-star-logo-100.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit
corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Formed in 2010,
Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia
throughout the US and in other countries.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">David
Grube’s guest commentary claims that Oregon’s suicide rates “overall
have gone down ... since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in
1997.” This claim is false.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7WVURVUs8SW6E0A4YETSxJFK-dR7cS_Fq7WhGZek6Dq8Yc3eGHExsIiYxtZhLQNwENDsWooDsrJYEH1FiFZQ_B5ecQCxqTpYhow9Qel0NSsIzCgAh02-R5j_ftv83xB5BIc_6awnLEM/s500/kansas-city-star-logo-500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oregon government reports show the following correlation between the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and an increase in other conventional suicides. Per the reports:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">* Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide “in late 1997.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">* By 2000, Oregon’s conventional suicide rate was "increasing significantly."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">* By 2007, Oregon's conventional suicide rate was 35% above the national average.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">* By 2010, Oregon's conventional suicide rate was 41% above the national average.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">* By 2012, Oregon's conventional suicide rate was 42% above the national average.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">* By 2014, Oregon's conventional suicide rate was 43.1% higher than the national average.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For backup documentation, go to Margaret Dore, “In Oregon, Other Suicides Have Increased with Legalization of Assisted Suicide,” August 8, 2017, at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.choiceillusionmontana.org/2017/09/by-margaret-k.html&source=gmail&ust=1535762858299000&usg=AFQjCNGFPF8tGi1_9CJpEDbjAm2TBk6lMQ" href="http://www.choiceillusionmontana.org/2017/09/by-margaret-k.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.choiceillusionmonta<wbr></wbr>na.org/2017/09/by-margaret-k.<wbr></wbr>html</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Legal assisted suicide encourages other suicide. Don’t be fooled </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.margaretdore.org&source=gmail&ust=1535762858299000&usg=AFQjCNHCWW2broMfOwcXcNpcwIDG5g06Jw" href="http://www.margaretdore.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.margaretdore.org</span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.choiceillusion.org&source=gmail&ust=1535762858299000&usg=AFQjCNFATSqEvVkbb6uUCPzLN8s67IceFA" href="http://www.choiceillusion.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.choiceillusion.org</span></a></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314132820263802243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-32445693924212090772018-08-13T00:04:00.000-05:002018-08-14T23:52:23.276-05:00Hey Kansas City Star: Oregon’s Suicide Rates Went Up, Not Down!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxyVZBGAElW6QBhw34btgRlyR2bXRtP5nrQoOV-D2zTUxmcE5w-FKKbBXpQo7sSlOpK9fWB1M1IWX-7xZkRBSzz_drY8yDDIN6kDiTOZ_o8qEywQMP-3iLtcgptOf7U3hxrZqF-z7PFY/s1600/CDC+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="512" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxyVZBGAElW6QBhw34btgRlyR2bXRtP5nrQoOV-D2zTUxmcE5w-FKKbBXpQo7sSlOpK9fWB1M1IWX-7xZkRBSzz_drY8yDDIN6kDiTOZ_o8qEywQMP-3iLtcgptOf7U3hxrZqF-z7PFY/s200/CDC+smaller.jpg" width="200" /></a>On August 4, 2018, the <i>Kansas City Star</i> published a guest commentary with this false statement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
National and state level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System suggest that suicide rates have varied slightly, but overall have gone down in Oregon since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997.</blockquote>
Per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Oregon’s suicide rates WENT UP, NOT DOWN, 28.2 % See <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/suicide/infographic.html#graphic1">https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/suicide/infographic.html#graphic1</a><br />
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I REQUEST THAT THE KANSAS CITY STAR CORRECT THIS ERROR<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more in depth information, see: Margaret K. Dore, Esq., “<a href="http://www.choiceillusionmontana.org/2017/09/by-margaret-k.html" target="_blank">In Oregon, Other Suicides Have Increased with the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide</a>,” Choice Illusion Montana, August 18, 2017<br />
<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA<br />
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, PS<br />
Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation<br />
opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia<br />
<a href="http://www.margaretdore.org/">www.margaretdore.org</a><br />
<a href="http://www.choiceillusion.org/">www.choiceillusion.org</a><br />
1001 4th Avenue, Suite 4400<br />
Seattle, WA 98154Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314132820263802243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-84766706669881644512012-10-11T01:00:00.001-05:002018-08-13T00:16:21.097-05:00Kansas Medical Society Policy Statement <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo18qx2NcTbaNRUhorBdvsEx0OCitg-CNV_5cRBoJ4wMQpIazSwc-dgeUFo1eHsuZzbx2VnfALLc0uiKRJX7eZzrJb_2Lu_e2-E5-xh3gVxAMuuABLHuoQP0GFtsrF1s_ICDVB194eAg/s1600/Kansas-Medical-Society-Logo+light+blue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="275" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo18qx2NcTbaNRUhorBdvsEx0OCitg-CNV_5cRBoJ4wMQpIazSwc-dgeUFo1eHsuZzbx2VnfALLc0uiKRJX7eZzrJb_2Lu_e2-E5-xh3gVxAMuuABLHuoQP0GFtsrF1s_ICDVB194eAg/s200/Kansas-Medical-Society-Logo+light+blue.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On April 30, 2011, the Kansas Medical Society adopted this statement against physician assisted suicide. To view a print copy, </span><a href="http://kmsonline.org/files/Policy_Statements/2011/11-10_PhysicianAssistedSuicide.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">click here</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ISSUE SUMMARY</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Assisted suicide is the intentional advising, encouraging, or assisting another person in the taking of his or her own life, which is illegal in Kansas. Patient requests for physician assisted suicide should be a signal to the physician that the patient’s needs are unmet and further evaluation to identify the elements contributing to the patient’s suffering is necessary. Multidisciplinary intervention, including specialty consultation, pastoral care, family counseling and other modalities should be sought as clinically indicated.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ADOPTED ACTION OR POLICY</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">KMS reaffirms that physician assisted suicide is fundamentally inconsistent with the physician’s professional role as healer.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Adopted by the KMS House of Delegates on April 30, 2011.</span></i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-19001192289247295142012-08-03T14:47:00.000-05:002012-08-06T15:28:29.358-05:00"I was afraid to leave my husband alone"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Letter from Oregon resident, Kathryn Judson, Published in the Hawaii Free Press, February 15, 2011. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">To view the original letter, <a href="http://hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesDailyNews/tabid/65/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3647/February-2011-Letters-to-the-Editor.aspx" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">click here and scroll down towards the bottom of the page</span></a>. </span> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Editor,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello from Oregon.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When my husband was seriously ill several years ago, I collapsed in a half-exhausted heap in a chair once I got him into the doctor's office, relieved that we were going to get badly needed help (or so I thought).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To my surprise and horror, during the exam I overheard the doctor giving my husband a sales pitch for assisted suicide. 'Think of what it will spare your wife, we need to think of her' he said, as a clincher.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, if the doctor had wanted to say 'I don't see any way I can help you, knowing what I know, and having the skills I have' that would have been one thing. If he'd wanted to opine that certain treatments weren't worth it as far as he could see, that would be one thing. But he was tempting my husband to commit suicide. And that is something different.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was indignant that the doctor was not only trying to decide what was best for David, but also what was supposedly best for me (without even consulting me, no less).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We got a different doctor, and David lived another five years or so. But after that nightmare in the first doctor's office, and encounters with a 'death with dignity' inclined nurse, I was afraid to leave my husband alone again with doctors and nurses, for fear they'd morph from care providers to enemies, with no one around to stop them.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not a good thing, wondering who you can trust in a hospital or clinic. I hope you are spared this in Hawaii.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kathryn Judson, Oregon</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-14048700504838053962012-08-03T14:00:00.000-05:002012-08-06T15:49:06.031-05:00Helium Hood Seller Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a eudora="autourl" href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-suicide-lady-20111203,0,3503245.story" style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-suicide-lady-20111203,0,3503245.story</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;">SAN DIEGO-AREA SUICIDE KIT SELLER AGREES TO STOP SALE OF DEVICES</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;">El Cajon woman came under scrutiny when one of her products was found on a dead 29-year-old in Oregon. </span><span class="byline" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times,</span> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">December 3, 2011</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reporting from San Diego -- A former schoolteacher who sold suicide kits that she once touted as leaving people "eternally sleepy" pleaded guilty Friday to a tax evasion charge and agreed to stop encouraging people to commit suicide.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Sharlotte Hydorn mailed more than 1,300 of the so-called helium hood suicide kits to people around the world, concealing the true nature of the product by describing the boxes as "orchid humidifiers" or "beauty bonnets" or "plastic rain hoods" on U.S. customs forms, according to federal prosecutors.<br /><br />The $60 kits actually contained a clear plastic bag, medical grade tubing and a how-to diagram. A customer would place the bag over his head, connect the tubing from the bag to a helium tank and turn the valve. Death would be caused by helium asphyxiation.<br /><br />Hydorn, 91, who was once an elementary school science teacher, marketed the product to terminally ill people as a compassionate alternative. She admitted to federal agents, however, that she didn't verify the physical condition, age or identity of the people who ordered her product.<br /><br />She drew scrutiny last year after one of her devices was found over the head of a dead 29-year-old man from Eugene, Ore. In May, federal agents raided her home in El Cajon, east of San Diego, where she assembled the kits with her son.<br /><br />Investigators determined that the kits had been sold to at least 50 people in San Diego County since 2007. In 2010, four San Diego residents — none of them terminally ill — committed suicide using the kits, according to prosecutors.<br /><br />Hydorn said she became interested in assisted suicide after watching her once-healthy husband die after a long battle with colon cancer</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 30 years ago. He died in a hospital bed, and she regrets not being able to respect his wishes to die in the comfort of his home.<br /><br />Her product, Hydorn said, ends lives peacefully, leaving people "eternally sleepy."<br /><br />In Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal under certain conditions, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would outlaw any device sold with the intent that another person use it to commit suicide.<br /><br />Hydorn had failed to file federal income tax returns since 2007 and agreed to pay about $26,000 in outstanding taxes, prosecutors said. She faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 26.<br /><br /><i><a href="mailto:richard.marosi@latimes.com" style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">richard.marosi@latimes.com</a></i></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-87599233303884354832012-08-03T13:59:00.001-05:002012-08-03T13:59:24.386-05:00Oregon Doctor Finds Fault with State's Law<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2011/10/04/oregon_doctor_finds_fault_with_states_law/" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2011/10/04/oregon_doctor_finds_fault_with_states_law/</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am a doctor practicing medicine in Oregon and Washington, where physician-assisted suicide is legal. I disagree with Scot Lehigh that these suicides are not like other suicides in which “a healthy person [takes] his life for reasons of despair, depression, or hopelessness’’ (“Death with dignity in Mass.,’’ Op-ed, Sept. 23).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, doctors can be wrong. So, what looks like a few months to live can be years. For a good article on this subject, see Nina Shapiro’s January 2009 "<a href="http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-01-14/news/terminal-uncertainty/" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Terminal Uncertainty</span></a>" in the Seattle Weekly.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Second, despair, depression, and hopelessness <em>are </em>a part of assisted suicide. A few years ago, a patient of mine who was undergoing cancer treatment with a specialist became depressed, and expressed a wish for assisted suicide.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In most jurisdictions, suicidal ideation is interpreted as a cry for help. In Oregon, the only help my patient got was a lethal prescription intended to kill him. Don’t make our mistake. Keep assisted suicide out of Massachusetts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr. Charles J. Bentz</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Portland, Ore.</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The writer is an associate professor of medicine in the division of general medicine and geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University.</span></em></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-72855045360045192252012-08-03T13:58:00.003-05:002012-08-03T13:58:41.778-05:00What People Mean When They Say They Want to Die<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(originally published as a Statement for the BBC)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">For a print version, <a href="http://www.margaretdore.com/pdf/What_people_mean_001.pdf" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">click here</span></a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by William Toffler, MD</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There has been a profound shift in attitude in my state since the voters of Oregon narrowly embraced assisted suicide 11 years ago. A shift that, I believe, has been detrimental to our patients, degraded the quality of medical care, and compromised the integrity of my profession. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since assisted suicide has become an option, I have had at least a dozen patients discuss this option with me in my practice. Most of the patients who have broached this issue weren't even terminal. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my first encounters with this kind of request came from a patient with a progressive form of multiple sclerosis. He was in a wheelchair yet lived a very active life. In fact, he was a general contractor and quite productive. While I was seeing him, I asked him about how it affected his life. He acknowledged that multiple sclerosis was a major challenge and told me that if he got too much worse, he might want to “just end it.” “ It sounds like you are telling me this because you might ultimately want assistance with your own assisted suicide- if things got a worse,” I said. He nodded affirmatively, and seemed relieved that I seemed to really understand. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I told him that I could readily understand his fear and his frustration and even his belief that assisted suicide might be a good option for him. At the same time, I told him that should he become sicker or weaker, I would work to give him the best care and support available. I told him that no matter how debilitated he might become, that, at least to me, his life was, and would always be, inherently valuable. As such, I would not recommend, nor could I participate in his assisted-suicide. He simply said, "Thank you."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The truth is that we are not islands. How physicians respond to the patient’s request has a profound effect, not only on a patient's choices, but also on their view of themselves and their inherent worth.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When a patient says, "I want to die"; it may simply mean, "I feel useless." </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When a patient says, "I don't want to be a burden"; it may really be a question, "Am I a burden?" </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When a patient says, "I've lived a long life already"; they may really be saying, "I'm tired. I'm afraid I can't keep going."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And, finally, when a patient says, "I might as well be dead"; they may really be saying, "No one cares about me." </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many studies show that assisted suicide requests are almost always for psychological or social reasons. In Oregon there has never been any documented case of assisted suicide used because there was actual untreatable pain.[6] As such, assisted suicide has been totally unnecessary in Oregon. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, the legislation passed in Oregon does not require that the patient have unbearable suffering, or any suffering for that matter. The actual Oregon experience has been a far cry from the televised images and advertisements that seduced the public to embrace assisted suicide. In statewide television ads in 1994, a woman named Patty Rosen claimed to have killed her daughter with an overdose of barbiturates because of intractable cancer pain. This claim was later challenged and shown to be false. Yet, even if it had been true, it would be an indication of inadequate medical care- not an indication for assisted suicide. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Astonishingly, there is not even inquiry about the potential gain to family members of the so-called "suicide" of a "loved one." This could be in the form of an inheritance, a life insurance policy, or, perhaps even simple freedom from previous care responsibilities. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most problematic for me has been the change in attitude within the healthcare system itself. People with serious illnesses are sometimes fearful of the motives of doctors or consultants. Last year, a patient with bladder cancer contacted me. She was concerned that an oncologist might be one of the "death doctors." She questioned his motives—particularly when she obtained a second opinion from another oncologist which was more sanguine about her prognosis and treatment options. Whether one or the other consultant is correct or not, such fears were never an issue before assisted suicide was legalized. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Oregon, I regularly receive notices that many important services and drugs for my patients-even some pain medications-won't be paid for by the State health plan. At the same time, assisted suicide is fully covered and sanctioned by the State of Oregon and by our collective tax dollars.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I urge UK leaders to reject the seductive siren of assisted suicide. Oregon has tasted the bitter pill of barbiturate overdoses and many now know that our legislation is hopelessly flawed. I believe Great Britain, the birthplace of Dame Cicely Saunders, and the Hospice movement, and a model to the rest of the world, deserves better. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On May 12, 2006</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-57657740257240639562012-08-03T13:57:00.003-05:002012-08-03T13:57:50.573-05:00"The mere presence of legal assisted-suicide steers patients to suicide"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 27, 2011</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To Massachusetts Medical Society </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear House of Delegates Officers and Other Interested Parties:<br /><br />I understand that the Massachusetts Medical Association will be voting on changing its policy against physician-assisted suicide. I have been a cancer doctor in Oregon for more than 40 years. The combination of assisted-suicide legalization and prioritized medical care based on prognosis has created a danger for my patients on the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid).<br /><br />The Plan limits medical care and treatment for patients with a likelihood of a 5% or less 5-year survival. My patients in that category, who say, have a good chance of living another three years and who want to live, cannot receive surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy to obtain that goal. The Plan guidelines state that the Plan will not cover “chemotherapy or surgical interventions with the primary intent to prolong life or alter disease progression.” The Plan WILL cover the cost of the patient’s suicide.<br /><br />Under our law, a patient is not supposed to be eligible for voluntary suicide until they are deemed to have six months or less to live. In the well publicized cases of Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup, neither of them had such diagnoses, nor had they asked for suicide. The Plan, nonetheless, offered them suicide.<br /><br />In Oregon, the mere presence of legal assisted-suicide steers patients to suicide even when there is not an issue of coverage. One of my patients was adamant she would use the law. I convinced her to be treated. Eleven years later she is thrilled to be alive. Please, don’t let assisted suicide come to Massachusetts.<br /><br /> [Support for this letter regarding Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup can be found in these articles: <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.katu.com/news/26119539.html" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.katu.com/news/26119539.html</span></a></span> &<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5517492&page=1" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5517492&page=1</span></a> My patient’s letter in the Boston Globe describing her being alive 11 years later can be read here:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-04/bostonglobe/30243525_1_suicide-doctor-ballot-initiative" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-04/bostonglobe/30243525_1_suicide-doctor-ballot-initiative</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span> ]<br /><br />Kenneth R.Stevens, Jr., MD<br />Sherwood, OR </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Professor Emeritus and former Chair, Radiation Oncology Department, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-17643044098294743482012-08-03T13:56:00.000-05:002012-08-03T13:56:46.900-05:00Don't Follow Oregon's Lead: Say No to Assisted Suicide<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><x -tab="-tab"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.margaretdore.com/info/Bentz_Letter.pdf" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;">http://www.margaretdore.com/info/Bentz_Letter.pdf</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></x></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am an internal medicine doctor, practicing in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. I write in support of Margaret Dore's article, "<i>Aid in Dying: Not Legal in Idaho; Not About Choice."</i> I would also like to share a story about one of my patients.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>I was caring for a 76 year-old man who came in with a sore on his arm<span style="color: blue;">.</span> The sore was ultimately diagnosed as a malignant melanoma, and I referred him to two cancer specialists for evaluation and therapy. I had known this patient and his wife for over a decade. He was an avid hiker, a popular hobby here in Oregon. As he went through his therapy, he became less able to do this activity, becoming depressed, which was documented in his chart.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>During this time, my patient expressed a wish for doctor-assisted suicide to one of the cancer specialists. Rather than taking the time and effort to address the question of depression, or ask me to talk with him as his primary care physician and as someone who knew him, the specialist called me and asked me to be the "second opinion" for his suicide. She told me that barbiturate overdoses "work very well" for patients like this, and that she had done this many times before.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><x -tab="-tab"></x>I told her that assisted-suicide was not appropriate for this patient and that I did NOT concur. I was very concerned about my patient's mental state, and I told her that addressing his underlying issues would be better than simply giving him a lethal prescription. Unfortunately, my concerns were ignored, and approximately two weeks later my patient was dead from an overdose prescribed by this doctor. His death certificate, filled out by this doctor, listed the cause of death as melanoma.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>The public record is not accurate. My patient did not die from his cancer, but at the hands of a once-trusted colleague. This experience has affected me, my practice, and my understanding of what it means to be a physician. What happened to this patient, who was weak and vulnerable, raises several important questions that I have had to answer, and that the citizens of Idaho should also consider:<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"> <strong> *</strong> If assisted suicide is made legal in Idaho, will you be able to trust your doctors, insurers and HMOs to give you and your family members the best care? I referred my patient to specialty care, to a doctor I trusted, and the outcome turned out to be fatal.<br /><x -tab="-tab"> </x><br /><x -tab="-tab"> </x><b>*</b> How will financial issues affect your choices? In Oregon, patients under the Oregon Health Plan have been denied coverage for treatment and offered coverage for suicide instead.<i> See e.g.</i> KATU TV story and video at</x></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a eudora="autourl" href="http://www.katu.com/home/video/26119539.html" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.katu.com/home/video/26119539.html</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (about Barbara Wagner). Do you want this to be your choice?<br /><br /><b><x -tab="-tab"> </x>*</b> If your doctor and/or HMO favors assisted suicide, will they let you know about all possible options or will they simply encourage you to kill yourself? The latter option will often involve often less actual work for the doctor and save the HMO money.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>In most states, suicidal ideation is interpreted as a cry for help. In Oregon, the only help my patient received was a lethal prescription, intended to kill him.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>Is this where you want to go? Please learn the real lesson from Oregon. Despite all of the so-called safeguards in our assisted suicide law, numerous instances of coercion, inappropriate selection, botched attempts, and active euthanasia have been documented in the public record.<br /><br /><x -tab="-tab"></x>Protect yourselves and your families. Don't let legalized assisted suicide come to Idaho.<br /><br />Charles J. Bentz MD, FACP<br />Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics Oregon Health & Sciences University<br />Portland Oregon</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-80187245235252526892012-08-03T13:54:00.000-05:002012-08-03T14:14:53.958-05:00"If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2011/10/04/she_pushed_for_legal_right_to_die_and___thankfully___was_rebuffed/" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">opinion/letters/articles/2011/10/04/she_pushed_for_legal_right_to_die_and___thankfully___was_rebuffed/</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I DISAGREE with Scot Lehigh’s Sept. 23 column, which characterizes assisted suicide as only involving people who are going to die in “a few months or weeks’’ (“Death with dignity in Mass.,’’ Op-ed). I am a retired person living in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. Our law was enacted through a ballot initiative that I voted for. In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had six months to a year to live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about making use of it. I tried to ask my doctor, but he didn’t really answer me. I didn’t want to suffer. I wanted to do what our law allowed, and I wanted my doctor to help me. Instead, he encouraged me not to give up, and ultimately I decided to fight the disease. I had both chemotherapy and radiation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so happy to be alive! It is now 11 years later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead. I thank him and all my doctors for helping me to choose “life with dignity.’’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Assisted suicide should not be legal. I hope Massachusetts does not make this terrible mistake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jeanette Hall</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">King City, Ore.</span></em></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-82217604729448798722012-08-03T13:53:00.000-05:002012-08-03T14:45:02.562-05:00"I was afraid to leave my husband alone"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Letter from Oregon resident, Kathryn Judson, Published in the Hawaii Free Press, February 15, 2011. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">To view the original letter, <a href="http://hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesDailyNews/tabid/65/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3647/February-2011-Letters-to-the-Editor.aspx" style="color: #463026; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">click here and scroll down towards the bottom of the page</span></a>. </span> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Editor,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello from Oregon.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When my husband was seriously ill several years ago, I collapsed in a half-exhausted heap in a chair once I got him into the doctor's office, relieved that we were going to get badly needed help (or so I thought).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To my surprise and horror, during the exam I overheard the doctor giving my husband a sales pitch for assisted suicide. 'Think of what it will spare your wife, we need to think of her' he said, as a clincher.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, if the doctor had wanted to say 'I don't see any way I can help you, knowing what I know, and having the skills I have' that would have been one thing. If he'd wanted to opine that certain treatments weren't worth it as far as he could see, that would be one thing. But he was tempting my husband to commit suicide. And that is something different.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was indignant that the doctor was not only trying to decide what was best for David, but also what was supposedly best for me (without even consulting me, no less).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We got a different doctor, and David lived another five years or so. But after that nightmare in the first doctor's office, and encounters with a 'death with dignity' inclined nurse, I was afraid to leave my husband alone again with doctors and nurses, for fear they'd morph from care providers to enemies, with no one around to stop them.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not a good thing, wondering who you can trust in a hospital or clinic. I hope you are spared this in Hawaii.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #303030; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kathryn Judson, Oregon</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1763498998767274559.post-11420944286651998132012-05-25T16:48:00.001-05:002012-05-25T16:48:42.583-05:00Coming SoonComing SoonUnknownnoreply@blogger.com