Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in the US state of Washington
Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in the US state of Washington.
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But even though the "Death with Dignity" law takes effect Thursday, people who might seek the life-ending prescriptions could find their doctors conflicted or not willing to write them.
Many doctors are hesitant to talk publicly about where they stand on the issue, said Dr Tom Preston, a retired cardiologist and board member of Compassion & Choices, the group that campaigned for and supports the law.
"There are a lot of doctors, who in principle, would approve or don't mind this, but for a lot of social or professional reasons, they don't want to be involved," he said.
But Preston said discussions about end-of-life issues between doctor and patient will increase because of the new law, and he thinks that as time goes on more and more doctors who don't have a religious or philosophical opposition will be open to participating.
The US Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that it was up to states to regulate medical practice, including assisted suicide, and Washington's Initiative 1000 was passed by nearly 60 per cent of state voters in November.
It became the second state, behind Oregon, to have a voter-approved measure allowing assisted suicide.
Under the Oregon and Washington laws, physicians and pharmacists are not required to write or fill lethal prescriptions if they are opposed to the law. Some Washington hospitals are opting out of participation, which precludes their doctors from participating on hospital property.
Washington's law is based on Oregon's measure, which took effect in late 1997. Since then, more than 340 people u2014 mostly ailing with cancer u2014 have used that state's measure to end their lives.
Under the Washington law, any patient requesting fatal medication must be at least 18 years old, declared competent and a state resident. The patient would have to make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and submit a written request witnessed by two people, one of which must not be a relative, heir, attending doctor, or connected with a health facility where the requester lives.
Two doctors must certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live.
Health care providers writing a prescription or dispensing medication also must file a copy of the record with the state Department of Health, which is required to create an annual report on how the law is used.
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