First person dies under Wash. assisted suicide law
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The first person has died under Washington state's new assisted suicide law, says a nonprofit advocacy group for terminally ill patients.
The group, Compassion & Choices of Washington, identified the person as Linda Fleming, 66, of Sequim, who was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and was told she was actively dying.
She ended her life Thursday night with her family beside her, according to the group.
Fleming was reportedly stunned when she received her terminal diagnosis, as she had only recently begun feeling discomfort, said a spokesperson for Compassion & Choices of Washington, the largest aid-in-dying advocacy group in the state.
Her disease progressed rapidly and her pain worsened dramatically. "I had only recently learned how to live in the world as I had always wanted to, and now I will no longer be here. So my fatal disease arrived at a most inopportune time," Fleming said shortly before her death.
After working with her physician and volunteers to consider her choices and make her end-of-life decisions, Fleming took her prescribed medication on Thursday evening at home with her family, her dog and her physician at her bedside.
"The pain became unbearable, and it was only going to get worse," Fleming said in explaining her decision to use the "Death with Dignity" law.
"I am a very spiritual person, and it was very important to me to be conscious, clear-minded and alert at the time of my death," she said, adding that powerful pain medications were affecting her ability to focus and concentrate.
"I am grateful that the 'Death with Dignity' law provides me the choice of a death that fits my own personal beliefs," she said.
Dr. Tom Preston, Compassion & Choices' medical director, said, "When a cure is no longer possible, the 'Death With Dignity' Act adds another option for patients dying from a terminal illness. ... Last night, the Death With Dignity Act provided a way to honor this patient's final decision."
But opponents of the measure said they are saddened by Fleming's suicide.
"Well, we knew it was inevitable, but it just turns my stomach," said Dan Kennedy, CEO of Human Life of Washington, which opposes the assisted suicide law. "When we, as a culture, have come to glorify assisted suicide as a legitimate option for people suffering, it's a sad day in the state of Washington."
"We are all opposed to unnecesssary suffering. And if she was suffering, there are certainly drugs and methods and means available to alleviate that," Kennedy added. "So no one who is opposed to assisted suicide is in favor of any kind of suffering, and there's no need for it."
The assisted suicide law was approved in last November's election with a nearly 60 percent "yes" vote, and is based on a similar measure that passed in Oregon in 1997.
Under the Washington law, any patient requesting fatal medication must be at least 18, declared competent and be a resident of the state.
Two doctors would have to certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live. The patient must also make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and make a written request that is witnessed by two people.
Robb Miller, executive director of Compassion & Choices, said the law is an improvement over the way terminally ill patients in Washington had to deal with death in the past.
"Prior to legalization, there was no way to know how many people wanted the option, how many persuaded their physicians to help them," he said.
One positive side effect of the similar law in Oregon has been the increase in use of hospice care for easing pain at the end of someone's life, Miller said.
He said he expects the same improvement will be seen in Washington state.
"What this law has really done is allowed people to talk to their physicians about the option of death with dignity and jump start the conversation about end of life," Miller said.
But Kennedy said he doesn't see it that way.
"There will be a lot of spin by Compassion & Choices and others to try to say what a great thing this is, and I just have to shake my head," he said.
The group, Compassion & Choices of Washington, identified the person as Linda Fleming, 66, of Sequim, who was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and was told she was actively dying.
She ended her life Thursday night with her family beside her, according to the group.
Fleming was reportedly stunned when she received her terminal diagnosis, as she had only recently begun feeling discomfort, said a spokesperson for Compassion & Choices of Washington, the largest aid-in-dying advocacy group in the state.
Her disease progressed rapidly and her pain worsened dramatically. "I had only recently learned how to live in the world as I had always wanted to, and now I will no longer be here. So my fatal disease arrived at a most inopportune time," Fleming said shortly before her death.
After working with her physician and volunteers to consider her choices and make her end-of-life decisions, Fleming took her prescribed medication on Thursday evening at home with her family, her dog and her physician at her bedside.
"The pain became unbearable, and it was only going to get worse," Fleming said in explaining her decision to use the "Death with Dignity" law.
"I am a very spiritual person, and it was very important to me to be conscious, clear-minded and alert at the time of my death," she said, adding that powerful pain medications were affecting her ability to focus and concentrate.
"I am grateful that the 'Death with Dignity' law provides me the choice of a death that fits my own personal beliefs," she said.
Dr. Tom Preston, Compassion & Choices' medical director, said, "When a cure is no longer possible, the 'Death With Dignity' Act adds another option for patients dying from a terminal illness. ... Last night, the Death With Dignity Act provided a way to honor this patient's final decision."
But opponents of the measure said they are saddened by Fleming's suicide.
"Well, we knew it was inevitable, but it just turns my stomach," said Dan Kennedy, CEO of Human Life of Washington, which opposes the assisted suicide law. "When we, as a culture, have come to glorify assisted suicide as a legitimate option for people suffering, it's a sad day in the state of Washington."
"We are all opposed to unnecesssary suffering. And if she was suffering, there are certainly drugs and methods and means available to alleviate that," Kennedy added. "So no one who is opposed to assisted suicide is in favor of any kind of suffering, and there's no need for it."
The assisted suicide law was approved in last November's election with a nearly 60 percent "yes" vote, and is based on a similar measure that passed in Oregon in 1997.
Under the Washington law, any patient requesting fatal medication must be at least 18, declared competent and be a resident of the state.
Two doctors would have to certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live. The patient must also make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and make a written request that is witnessed by two people.
Robb Miller, executive director of Compassion & Choices, said the law is an improvement over the way terminally ill patients in Washington had to deal with death in the past.
"Prior to legalization, there was no way to know how many people wanted the option, how many persuaded their physicians to help them," he said.
One positive side effect of the similar law in Oregon has been the increase in use of hospice care for easing pain at the end of someone's life, Miller said.
He said he expects the same improvement will be seen in Washington state.
"What this law has really done is allowed people to talk to their physicians about the option of death with dignity and jump start the conversation about end of life," Miller said.
But Kennedy said he doesn't see it that way.
"There will be a lot of spin by Compassion & Choices and others to try to say what a great thing this is, and I just have to shake my head," he said.