Doctor-assisted suicide bill
gets a hearing tomorrow

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By Bruce Dunford
Associated Press

Supporters and opponents will have a chance tomorrow to speak out on a proposal to allow a Hawaii resident suffering from a terminal illness to receive medication to end his or her life.

The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. in the Capitol auditorium on a bill that would have Hawaii join Oregon as the only states allowing physician-assisted suicides.

Also on the agenda is a companion measure, the administration's proposed "Death with Dignity" amendment to the state Constitution, giving the Legislature the power to allow terminally ill adult patients to obtain physician's prescriptions for drugs to end life.

A draft measure released yesterday by Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa (D, South Hilo-Puna), appears to mirror the Oregon law.

Gov. Ben Cayetano said he supports the proposed amendment, which would require ratification by Hawaii voters in the November general election.

"I'd like for the people of this state to vote on this issue," he said. "It's not an issue that is, I guess, ever timely because it doesn't affect a lot of people, but for the people it does affect, it's very, very important."

Hamakawa said he is not sure how much support there is on the committee or in the House to advance the measure to the Senate, where similar measures were shelved.

"We took a look at the Oregon law to see what they did," Hamakawa said. "They've been operating for three years now, and we think the safeguards provided in the Oregon law are good ones we should consider very carefully."

At least 91 people have ended their lives under a doctor's care since the Oregon law took effect in 1997, according to a recently published survey. Twenty-one did so last year.

To request a fatal prescription, a patient must be at least 18 and an Oregon resident, capable of communicating health-care decisions and diagnosed with an illness that will lead to death within six months. The same requirements would apply under the proposed bill in Hawaii.

Senate Health Committee Chairman David Matsuura (D, South Hilo-Puna), said last week he would not hold a hearing on the assisted-suicide bills because there was not enough time to address insurance and criminal law issues.

Opponents such as the Hawaii Family Forum say physician-assisted suicide could make people with terminal illnesses feel they have a duty to their family to hasten death.

The First Unitarian Church, which supports the bills, said its recent poll found that 72 percent of the 400 people questioned agreed with assisted suicide for the terminally ill.

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