REJECTING THE RIGHT TO DIE

November 1999
		Congress has approved legislation that would penalize physicians who assist in suicides. The vote overrides an Oregon law from 1997 that allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of painkillers for their patients.

Forum Introduction. Is effective legislation attainable? Was Oregon a good model? Is euthanasia legal? How do insurance agencies react to doctor-assisted suicide? Does a dying person have different rights? Manipulating a dying person's decision   Oct. 27, 1999: The House votes against assisted suicide. Nov. 24, 1998: Assisted suicide in Oregon. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of health.     Congressman Dave Weldon Oregon Department of Justice U.S. House of Representatives	Henry Hulseberg, Oak Park, IL asks: As someone who lost his wife to cancer ten months ago, I think today's congressional action is totally immoral. To say, as the representative did on TV that there are drug therapies that deal with all aspects of pain etc. is simply not true. To say that no one ever has a right to seek death when his/her suffering passes a certain benchmark is also totally immoral and unrealistic. To say that a person does not have the right to choose death as an acceptable option is immoral and untrue. I am very passionate about this issue, and I think a dying personhas many more rights to choices than any of us who are living have right to restrict or impose. I have been there, I am a very devout Christian, and I know what I am talking about! David Schuman, Deputy Attorney General, Oregon responds: Obviously, the majority of voters -- including many devoutly religious ones -- in Oregon agree with you. Write your Senator if you want experiments like Oregon's to continue to be legal. Republican Congressman Dave Weldon of Florida responds: Mr. Hulesburg, I am very sorry to hear of your wife's passing, and troubled to hear that she had to experience so much pain. As I stated during the interview, as a physician for 15 years, I have treated many terminally ill and chronically ill patients. I worked hard to keep my patients as comfortable as possible. Sometimes that meant trying a number of different pain control strategies. Sometimes it meant phone calls in the middle of the night from patients, sometimes it meant early morning visits. But a good physician works to find a drug remedy that a alleviates a patient's pain. I never had a case arise where I could not effectively manage my patient's pain to their satisfaction. One of the very positive features of the bill we passed, is a new program that will enhance the training of physicians in pain management. Too many health care providers today do not know how to effectively manage the pain of their patients. This bill tries to address that problem by enhancing training so that physicians are not affraid to use enough pain medication to address the patient's pain. Again, I am very sorry to hear about your loss.