As expected, the House Human Services Committee has rewritten S.77 so that it is once more an Oregon-style assisted suicide bill. The bill now goes to the Judiciary Committee, which is expected to send it to the House floor with few or no changes. This is a terrible, dangerous bill.
It is ironic that Representative Haas, who insists that assisted suicide has a track record of safety in Oregon and Washington, was the main sponsor of H. 105, an act to address our state’s terrible record of responding to complaints of abuse. How she can now support legislation that provides almost complete cover for abuse of patients left unprotected once they acquire the lethal overdose is more than we can fathom.
Please, tell your representatives to vote against this bill.