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September 05. 2015 12:01AM Other Views: Misinformation industry turns law into something it's not The Daily Astorian Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law continues to be an object of misinformation. Oregon's self-image is about an iconoclastic, pioneering spirit. Oregon enacted a bottle bill in 1971. Nine states have imitated it. Oregon voters agreed to death with dignity legislation — physician-assisted suicide — in 1994. Two states — Washington state and Vermont — have followed Oregon's lead. Every time another state, such as Massachusetts, puts this proposal on the ballot, eyes turn once again to Oregon. Not surprisingly, there is a misinformation industry that aims to turn Oregon's law into something it's not. The latest contribution to relitigating Oregon's law was Dr. William L. Toffler's article on the opinion page of The Wall Street Journal. Toffler is an Oregon physician and professor of family medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Toffler is accurate in saying that Oregon voters narrowly approved physician-assisted suicide. The ballot initiative won 51 percent of the vote. But he failed to tell WSJ readers that when The Oregonian and the Catholic Conference of Bishops promoted the law's repeal in 1997, the "no" vote was 59 percent. In other words, the law had gained credibility with time. Dr. Toffler's basic mischaracterization of the experience in Oregon is that "there has been a profound shift in attitude toward medical care — new fear and secrecy, and a fixation on death." While it is true that nationally there is more candor about issues of death and dying — as the Baby Boom demographic moves into its seventh decade — there is no broad trend of discussion in Oregon. The number of Oregonians who have used physician-assisted suicide is relatively small. And that was always the expectation. It is not forced on anyone. On the contrary, a patient must ask to use it. And the patient must take the barbiturates on their own. The reality is that many Oregon physicians choose not to take part in the practice. That often makes it difficult for a patient, especially in a rural area, to obtain the barbiturates the law designates. Some five years ago this newspaper described the wrenching experience that Rod Gramson of Astoria had in helping his partner use physician-assisted suicide. The initiative's opponents in 1994 based their case on religion and morality. What the opponents misread was a basic motivation for the death with dignity movement — widespread mistrust of the medical profession on end-of-life choices. It is no secret that some physicians are not good at pain and symptom control. An excellent outcome of the law, which Dr. Toffler does not mention, is that hospice and palliative care have gained increased visibility and emphasis in Oregon. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150905/OPINION/150909829 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->