Washington Assisted Suicide Opponents Educate Residents Across State
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 25, 2008
Olympia, WA (LifeNews.com) — A possible vote on the November ballot in Washington to legalize assisted suicide may be several months away, but members of the group spearheading the opposition are wasting no time in setting up educational events across the state.
The Washington Coalition Against Assisted Suicide has local forums and educational events planned for Olympia and Seattle and representative will appear on upcoming local talk radio programs.
"We are happy to take advantage of each and every opportunity to educate the voters of Washington about the dangers of Initiative 1000 and believe that informing the public is the key to winning in November," the group’s Carrie Herring told LifeNews.com in an email Friday.
"Indeed, we have seen that many people change their opinion once they know more about the pitfalls of Initiative 1000," Herring added.
Recently, group spokeswoman Dr. Susan Rutherford denounced a press release issued by proponents of the assisted suicide initiative.
She said backers of I-1000 attempted to paint the group as a front for Catholics or religious groups even though pro-life advocates have joined disability rights groups, medical organizations and doctors groups in opposing the ballot proposal.
"Part of the proponents’ misguided campaign strategy is the attempt to foster in the minds of the public that diverse and secular coalitions like ours are fronts for a religious group," she said.
"We have doctors, hospice nurses, representatives of disabled persons’ groups, members of minorities, Democrats and Republicans, all united by the single issue of unqualified opposition to the legalization of assisted suicide," she added.
"They are trying to distract attention from the real issues: assisted suicide is bad public policy," Dr. Rutherford explained. "It endangers depressed people and those with mental illness. The health care system can exploit it to cut costs."
Rutherford said that as more people learn about problems such as a lack of government oversight and no ability to investigate abuses under the law, more Washington citizens will oppose the proposal.
Related web sites:
Washington Coalition Against Assisted Suicide – https://www.noassistedsuicide.com
