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[an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Ten thousand turn out for Ralph Nader at Portland rally PORTLAND (AP) - Ralph Nader, who's been counting on Oregon to give a big boost to his third-party bid for the presidency, took a political risk by condemning Oregon's first-in-the-nation assisted suicide law. Later, a Friday rally for Nader at Portland's Memorial Coliseum was sold-out with 10,000 $7 tickets sold. Campaign officials made the announcement as the rally began with hundreds of people still waiting outside. At an earlier news conference, the Green Party candidate told reporters he thinks Oregon voters made a mistake by twice endorsing a law that allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to the terminally ill. The law was promoted by sponsors as a matter of patient choice, Nader said, but it is open to abuse by doctors under financial pressure by health insurance organizations to hold down the costs of caring for the terminally ill. "It's cruel to people who would otherwise not want to die if they had adequate pain relief," Nader said at a news conference. Nader said he was worried that the law targets terminally ill patients who suffer from depression or who worry about being an undue financial burden to their relatives. "Then along come doctors working for HMOs who are under pressure to cut costs, and the deed is done," he said. It is unclear whether Nader's position against Oregon's assisted-suicide law will lessen his appeal among voters in this state. But many people gathering for Friday night's rally said it would not deter them from voting for Nader. Denise Stone, wearing a green button urging "Vote Nader" as she waited for the Friday night rally to begin at Memorial Stadium, said she was concerned by Nader's stance on assisted suicide, but she still planned to vote for him in November. "I think his reasons are honorable because he's still looking out for the people," said Stone, 39, of Portland. "Although his opinion doesn't agree with mine, I support it because I think it's honorable." Nick Storie, owner of Storie's Steel & Wood Products Co. in Portland, said he intends to vote for Nader despite disagreeing with his stance. "I agree with his reason for opposing it, but that's a question that deserves a lot of thought," said Storie, 56. Earlier, a political analyst, Jim Moore, said that in one sense Nader's comments on assisted suicide are in keeping with his overall views about greedy corporations putting their own interests ahead of the interests of people. Still, said Moore, "It was silly thing to say, given that most of Nader's supporters in Oregon are also supporters of assisted suicide." "Something like this could easily split off a big chunk" of his support, said Moore, who teachers political science at the University of Portland. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act first was approved by voters in 1994, and at least 43 terminally ill people have used the assisted suicide law to end their lives since it cleared the final legal hurdles and took effect in October 1997. The chief author of the assisted suicide law, Barbara Coombs Lee, said she was surprised by Nader's criticism of the groundbreaking Oregon law and that there have been no documented abuses of the law. "I would say the Mr. Nader is monumentally misinformed on Oregon's legalization of assisted dying," Coombs Lee said. "This is not the way to appeal to Oregon voters." Observers have said Nader could harm Al Gore's chances of getting elected president by siphoning away votes in states like Oregon where the consumer activist enjoys high popularity because of his anti-corporate messages. In an April poll of the presidential race conducted for The Oregonian, Democrat Gore and Republican George W. Bush were nearly tied, with 7 percent of Oregon voters saying they planned to cast their ballot for Nader. Paul Embler, 56, of Portland, who has voted Democratic since 1972, said he's considering voting for Nader this year, but he's worried about taking votes away from Gore. "That bothers me. It would kind of depend on how things look as it gets close to November. If it looks like Gore can pull it off, then I think I'll vote for Nader," Embler said as he waited for Nader's rally to begin. Kristi Valentine, 48, of Portland said she's willing to risk a Bush victory to vote for Nader. "I'm the only one of all my friends who are willing to do it," Valentine said before the rally started. [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Visit our back issue library Email your... 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