New Warnings from Medical Study Confirm Dangers of Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide.

In Washington state, the July deadline is drawing near for assisted suicide advocates to submit the 224,800 signatures needed to place Initiative 1000 on the November ballot. At the moment Oregon has the dubious distinction of being the only state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. The initiative is virtually identical to Oregon's physician-assisted suicide measure.

In 1991 a similar initiative in Washington state narrowly failed. But this time around assisted suicide advocates are better prepared, better funded, and have as their point man former governor Booth Gardner, who remains very popular.

However, the initiative is beginning to face mounting opposition. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Washington legislature issued a statement stating their opposition. They're urging state residents not to sign petitions to get Initiative 1000 on the November ballot.

Sen. Margarita Prentice, a Democrat, said there is a danger that "physicians can already prescribe lethal drugs to patients who are depressed or mentally ill." In a statement, she noted, "In 2007, according to the Oregon Department of Health, not one patient in Oregon was referred for psychological counseling, a sure sign to me there is nothing to protect those suffering psychological distress."

She added, "It has virtually no protection for low-income and vulnerable people from being pressured into prematurely ending their life." Prentice, a registered nurse, concluded, "This very dangerous initiative never would have passed the Legislature."

Additionally, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire opposes the initiative. "I find it on a personal level very, very difficult to support assisted suicide," he said.

Another powerful critique of the initiative has come in the form of a recent critical review of Oregon's "Death With Dignity" law (which is in its 10th year of operation) offered by two medical doctors. Titled "Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: A Medical Perspective," the Michigan Law Review article was written by Herbert Hendin, M.D., and Kathleen Foley, M.D.