Death With Dignity Act In Effect Today
About one-third of Washington state hospitals are now participating in the Death With Dignity program, passed into law in November via I-1000. The law went into effect this morning, and participating hospitals include the University of Washington Medical Center and Group Health. Though we're sure many aren't celebrating, this day feels like a landmark in our state's history. Only two other states, Oregon and Montana, have passed similar assisted suicide acts; that makes Washington either on the leading, compassionate, progressive edge of health care or one of the few states foolhardy enough to flaunt God's law, depending on your take. (We'll go with the former, please and thank you.)
The benchmark seems particularly significant in light of the recent arrests in Georgia, where four members of the Final Exit Network have been charged with assisting the suicide of John Celmer. TIME magazine's latest issue includes a story about how the arrests have "revived" (heh) the debate about assisted suicide in America; it's worth reading for the retrospective, and for the reminder that what Washington hospitals now have the option to provide is still flat-out, knock-down illegal in 47 states.
