Attorneys Against I-1000
I-1000 is a Poorly Drafted Initiative, Which Permits Coercion of Vulnerable and Disabled Persons, Creates Immunities and Lacks Safeguards.
This Proposed Legislation Is Not a Good Solution – Please Read the Fine Print.
There Are Many Serious Problems With This Proposal as Drafted.
We are Washington attorneys who oppose I-1000 because it lacks critically necessary safeguards against coercion and abuse of disabled, elderly and vulnerable persons, and protects potentially egregious conduct. Basic protections against abuse do not exist in this measure. The proposed law is fundamentally flawed in protecting individual freedom of choice because:
- The written request for the lethal drug may be witnessed by a person with a financial interest in the patient's estate (Secs. 3 & 22); If the patient is in a long-term care facility, one of the witnesses to the written request for the lethal drug shall be an individual designated by the facility (Secs. 3 & 22 ), and the other witness may be an interested heir (Secs. 3 & 22).
- There is no requirement that the death be witnessed and therefore no guarantee that the patient voluntarily took his life or whether someone other than the patient took his life for him. See entire text of I-1000 (no witness required at the death).
- The Act contains a defined term, "self-administer," which is not in the Oregon Act and which is so broad that it allows someone other than the patient to administer the lethal drug (Sec. 1 (12));
- When completing the death certificate the attending physician is required to falsify it by listing the underlying disease as the cause of death, rather than listing the actual cause of death (for example, drug overdose, suicide, a euphemism for suicide, etc. (Sec. 4 (2));
- The purported "good faith" standard set forth in the proposal gives broad immunity from liability and civil accountability for negligence. Depressed patients are not adequately protected. I-1000 does not require assessment or treatment for depression. [I-1000, Section 6]. Because the waiting period is only 15 days, a suicidal "cry for help" could be met with a bottle of lethal drugs, instead of encouragement and treatment.
- A person may not protect against foreseeable abuse by opting out of the law (Sec. 16).
- There is a serious potential for abuse. If I-1000 is passed, insurance companies in Washington will have incentives to steer patients to "choose" voluntary suicide. For every patient who "chooses" the suicide option, the insurer saves money. I-1000 is a cost cutter's dream. See: Rita Marker, Oregon's Suicidal Approach to Health Care, American Thinker, September 14, 2008 at www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/oregons_suicidal_approach_to_h.html; Susan Donaldson James, Death Drugs Cause Uproar in Oregon, ABC News, August 6, 2008 at http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=5517492&page=1 and video of Barbara Wagner, www.katu.com/news/26119539.html?video=YHI&t=a.
The measure leaves disabled, vulnerable and senior citizens particularly at risk of coercive actions or worse by their heirs or others.
Here is a link to Initiative 1000 as filed with the Secretary of State: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i1000.pdf.
We urge you to reject this measure and to vote "No" on I-1000.
Charles H. Amstutz, Yakima
Douglas Anderson, Ephrata
Joel B. Ard, Seattle
Greg Arpin, Spokane
James G. Baker, Montesano
Dorothy A. Bartholomew, Fife
Dirk Bartram, Seattle
Glenn D. Bellamy, Cincinnati
Richard Black, Seattle
David A. Bolin Jr, Kenmore
M. Wayne Boyack, Seattle
Mary Ann Brady, Spokane
Douglas J. Bratt, Vancouver
Donald C. Brockett, Spokane
Timothy Brown, Washington, D.C.
John Budlong, Edmonds
Paul Burns, Spokane
Bruce Buskirk, Silverdale
Greg Call, Vancouver
Hannah Callaghan, Portland
Thomas Cena, Tacoma
Corinne Clarke, Lake Forest Park
Jim Cline, Seattle
Kelly Cole, Washington, D.C.
John R. (Jack) Connelly, Seattle
Grant E. Courtney, Bainbridge Island
Patrick Crowley, Seattle
David D. Cullen, Olympia
James R. Cunningham, Olympia
James Danielson, Seattle
Ed Dawson, Spokane
Jean M. DeFond, Seattle
Frank Dennis, Seattle
Ervin DeSmet, Woodinville
David K. DeWolf, Spokane
Margaret Dore, Seattle
Theresa E. Dowell, Bellevue
Jeff Dunnicliff, Vashon
Bill Dussault, Seattle
Gary Duvall, Seattle
S. Frederick Feller, Lakewood
Gavin Flynn, Vancouver
John W. Fuhrman, Seattle
James Gallagher, Seattle
Michael C. Geraghty, Spokane
Daniel L. Gibson, Bellingham
Conrad Green, Poulsbo
Thomas J. (Jerry) Greenan, Seattle
Marilyn R. Gunther, Seattle
Jamey Haigh, Seattle
M. Henry (Hank) Halle, Redmond
James Hanken, Seattle
Dennis S. Harlowe, Tacoma
Rodney T. Harmon, Bothell
Edward C. Harper, Kirkland
Wilda V. Heard, Seattle
Julie M. Herber, Everett
Fern Herbert, Lynnwood
David R. Hevel, Kennewick
J. Anthony Hoare, Seattle
Stephen J Hosch, Olympia
Samuel M. Huestis, Ventura, CA
Catherine Janicki, Seattle
Larry A. Jelsing, Everett
John W. Johnson, Silverdale
Elliott W. Johnson, Mount Vernon
Craig H. Johnson, Pasco
Robert M. Kane, Seattle
Thomas P. Keefe, Jr., Spokane
Robert M. Keefe, Seattle
Bruce Kelley, Lake Wales, FL
Nancy Kennedy, Seattle
Jefferson L. Kennelly, Rochester, MN
Jerry Kindinger, Seattle
Mark S Knapp, Federal Way
Mary E. Kooistra, Kirkland
John Lamp, Spokane
Dennis La Porte, Tacoma
Anne Marie Liebhaber, Olympia
Mike Liles, Jr., Seattle
William J. Lindberg Jr., Bellevue
Joanne K. Lipson, Seattle
Lance Losey, Seattle
Brian D. Lynch, Portland
James Mason, Tacoma
Greg Mathers, Lacey
Otto Matsch, Tacoma
Kenneth W. McCarthy, Gig Harbor
Mary Ann McConaughy, Seattle
Celeste McDonell, Seattle
Dan McGreevy, Bellingham
John L. McKay, Seattle
Grant S. Meiner, Port Angeles
Prof. Dr John Warwick Montgomery, Strasbourg, France
Christopher Moore, Seattle
Leonard J. Nelson, Spokane
Kyle D. Netterfield, Seattle
Gary C. Newbill, Issaquah
Steven T. O'Ban, Seattle
John Panesko, Chehalis
Charles B. Phillips, Walla Walla
John Q. Powers, Seattle
Derek P. Radtke, Seattle
Paula Ranney, Poulsbo
Kevin Richardson, Puyallup
Mark F. Rising, Seattle
Patrick Roach, Pasco
Ronald A. Roberts, Gig Harbor
Nathan P. Roberts, Tacoma
Jeff Rogers, Seattle
John R. Ruhl, Seattle
Karl Salzsieder, Longview
Rani K. Sampson, Kirkland
Theresa Schrempp, Bellevue
Larry Shannon, Seattle
Ray Siderius, Seattle
Carolyn A. Simms, Washougal
Pauline V. Smetka, Seattle
Dieter G. Struzyna, Bellevue
Geoffrey D. Swindler, Spokane
Kris Teft, Olympia
John J. Tollefsen, Lynnwood
Gwendylan Tregerman, Boston, MA
Gretchen L. Valentine, Seattle
Kenneth D. VanDerhoef, Seattle
Chris Villani, Bellingham
Kristen Waggoner, Seattle
G. Perrin Walker, Tacoma
Ben Wells, Arlington
Carolyn M. Westberg, Arlington, VA
Michael A. Winslow
John Woodbery, Bellevue