Opinions

Allow death with dignity, for there is respect for life and freedom

A few years ago, I had a close encounter with a brown bear. Your mind can cram a lot of thoughts into a short time when faced with a threat like that. I had already resigned myself to my fate as bear lunch, but then I thought, "I wonder if it's going to hurt?"

I guess most of us wonder about that. Will it hurt? Large teeth and claws would seem to answer the question, but adrenaline does amazing things. The older I get, the more people I know who have died. I've been present for the passing of a few. It's hard to watch a friend or a loved one in pain, at the mercy of an illness, struggling. No one wants that. I'm so grateful to the hospice and medical workers for the amazing, compassionate work they do.

That said, I support a bill now in the Legislature. Rep. Harriet Drummond of Anchorage has introduced House Bill 99. It's "An Act relating to the voluntary termination of life by terminally ill individuals; and providing for an effective date."

No, this bill isn't going to help anyone standing nose to nose with a brown bear. But in the final weeks, days and hours of our lives, we know that dying often involves pain. Sometimes a lot of pain. You get it. We all get it.

The concept of "death with dignity" legislation isn't new. One state that got there ahead of us is Oregon. There are some remarkable statistics from Oregon, which has tracked this closely since enacting their law in late 1997. Oregon hasn't become the suicide capital of America, as the law's detractors predicted. A terminally ill patient must have two doctors confirm his terminal status before he is eligible for a life-ending prescription.

In 2013, 122 terminally ill patients went through this process. They all received the medication. Only 71 used it. That's not unusual. Many people ultimately choose not to use the medication once they have it. In some years, fewer than half used the drug.

Years ago, I listened to the daughter of one prescription recipient talk about the end of her mother's life. As I remember, the mother had a very painful, drawn-out bout with cancer. It was difficult for the daughter to recount how hard it was to watch the body that had given her life so betray her mother. She said the surprising thing is that the day her mother got the prescription, she began to live again. The little bottle in her housecoat pocket gave her mother power over the pain. With every ache and spasm, her mother could decide for herself whether she was willing to endure more. She could stop it at any time -- the end of pain was right there in her pocket. When the pain was particularly bad, she would reach in and squeeze the bottle until it passed.

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Her mother didn't end her own life. The cancer did that. But the daughter became an advocate for death with dignity because she saw not how it had given her mother death, but how it had given her life.

There are a few organizations trying to stop the passage of HB 99. Some of them base their opposition on their belief in the "sanctity of life." They are using the issue to raise money.

Please, people, just stop. This isn't about the generic sanctity of all human life. It's about real, individual people, in the process of dying, who are frightened, hurting and feeling powerless. They are finding out how much dying can hurt. Today. Right now.

Their families are going through something unimaginable to people who haven't lived through it. This legislation shouldn't be about your ability to force other people to adhere to your religious beliefs -- to die according to your dogma.

Watching someone drown in pain, suffering, without hope, isn't some intellectual contemplation of the meaning of life. These need to be personal decisions, made by dying people, in concert with their doctors and families, in conformity with their own values and needs.

For all the show-talk about personal liberty and accountability floating around Juneau, here's a bill that actually grants those two things, in a concrete way, to every Alaskan. I understand some legislators oppose the bill on religious grounds. I get that. Some day, when those legislators are dying, I pray that they will be able to die in accordance with their religious beliefs. But now, while they're alive, I hope they'll remember that "grace and mercy" are indispensable parts of every religion that deserves the label.

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

Shannyn Moore

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster. You can hear her show, "The Last Word," Monday through Friday 4-6 p.m. on KOAN 95.5 FM and 1080 AM and 1480 We Act Radio in Washington, D.C., and on Netroots Radio.The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

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