Today’s (March 14, 2012) edition of the Wall Street Journal features a story by reporter Stephen Miller on the death of Peter Goodwin. Goodwin was a physician who campaigned for passage of Oregon’s assisted suicide law. Goodwin died Sunday, after drinking a medication prescribed by his physician to end his life. I admit I haven’t followed other stories on Goodwin’s death, but the following description of Goodwin’s health status makes me wonder if Oregon’s legal definition of “terminal” was – to put it mildly – stretched. From the story ‘Right-to-Die Advocate Ends His Life‘:
Dr. Goodwin, 83 years old, had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease and had been given less than six months to live.
Granted, Goodwin is described as having a condition ‘similar to Parkinson’s’ and not Parkinson’s itself, but a person with Parkinson’s who is still able to hold a cup and drink would most likely be a lot farther than six months from dying.
Miller gives significant space to Second Thoughts director John Kelly in this article – for his take on the Oregon law and assisted suicide in general:
The act has had an impact beyond Oregon, serving as a model for a Washington State law that took effect in 2009. Massachusetts is scheduled to vote on a similar law in November, while Montana allows physician-assisted suicide as a result of a court case.
John Kelly, director of Second Thoughts, a Massachusetts-based organization of disability activists who oppose the assisted-suicide ballot petition, said assisted suicide brings up big problems.
Dr. Goodwin “created a monster,” Mr. Kelly said. “Assisted suicide is a deadly mix with the profit-driven health-care system. There are so many problems with assisted suicide. These bills sound good in some kind of a perfect-knowledge fantasy universe, but when we get down to real life they become a disaster.”
Mr. Kelly said Oregon’s assisted-suicide law provides “no safeguards against misdiagnosis, against elder abuse, against physician misconduct. This is a law that singles out one group of people who are old and disabled.”
John and the other members of Second Thoughts are rapidly establishing themselves as committed and knowledgeable activists and stakeholders whose perspective is essential in any story on assisted suicide in Massachusetts and beyond. –Stephen Drake
There’s some hope, based on our activists being able to get quoted, such as John Kelly did. The Wall Street Journal is “business friendly”, to put it kindly – and the recent articles on my illness, severe ME/CFS were not “patient friendly”, to put it kindly.