Doctors, Hospitals Stand Against Washington's Assisted-Suicide Law Doctors and hospitals in Washington state are standing strong for life after voters legalized physician-assisted suicide last week. Hospice of Spokane has said its mission is to care and support its patients, not help them kill themselves. Spokane's Sacred Heart Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in the Northwest, also opposes assisted suicide. "This position is grounded in our basic values of respect for the sacredness of life, compassionate care of dying and vulnerable persons, and respect for the integrity of medical, nursing and allied health professions," according to a statement on the hospital's Web site. "We do not believe health care providers should ever be put in a position of aiding a patient in taking his or her own life. … We will continue to advocate for increased support and resources for hospice and palliative care programs, at the Medical Center and in our community, that provide compassionate, pain-relieving comfort and care for those who are at the end of life." Wesley J. Smith, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, said no doctor can be forced to help others kill themselves. "A powerful message could be sent if physicians around the state — if hospitals, nursing homes, hospices — refuse publicly to participate in assisted suicide, and put plaques and certificates up on their walls and lobbies saying, 'This is an assisted-suicide free zone,' " he told OneNewsNow.com. Contact: Jennifer Mesko Source: CitizenLink Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org Publish Date: November 13, 2008 Link to this article: |
November 14, 2008
Doctors, Hospitals Stand Against Assisted-Suicide Law
