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Bill would put lethal drugs out of reach Suicide-aid backers say measure would wreck Oregon�s law By Bill Kettler The drugs that Oregon physicians use to help dying patients end their lives would be off-limits under a bill in Congress. The Pain Relief Promotion Act would prohibit doctors from using federally controlled drugs with the intent to hasten death. The bill also encourages physicians to aggressively treat pain even if by doing so a patient dies. Oregon physicians who write lethal prescriptions for terminally ill patients use barbiturates and opiates. Those drugs are regulated by the federal Controlled Substances Act. Assisted suicide advocates say the bill would gut Oregon�s law because only those powerful, federally regulated drugs can produce swift, humane, dignified death. "If we can�t use controlled substances, we can�t use the law," said George Eighmey, director of Compassion in Dying. The Portland-based, nonprofit organization was formed in 1997 after voters approved assisted suicide for the second time. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and other opponents of assisted suicide say Oregon�s law illegally subverts provisions of the Controlled Substances Act that specifically prevent the use of those powerful drugs to end human lives. "Oregon voted to say we will take these federal drugs and use them for lethal purposes," Smith said in an interview Thursday. "That takes an act of Congress. "People should understand Oregon does not have the right to rewrite federal law," Smith said. Smith has consistently opposed physician-assisted suicide since he was elected to the Senate in 1996. Some people have taken him to task for failing to support the will of Oregon voters who have twice approved physician-assisted suicide. "I�ve been asked about physician-assisted suicide a thousand times," he said. "I�ve always answered that I�m opposed for policy and moral reasons." Smith noted that he opposed assisted suicide throughout his campaign for a Senate seat and won. "I�m trying to be consistent," he said. Smith said he continues to oppose assisted suicide to prevent the chance that some people may be coerced into ending their lives. "When I go to visit rest homes, it�s a normal experience for an elderly woman to grab my hand and say, �My family doesn�t visit me anymore. They just want me to die.�" Smith said the Pain Relief Promotion Act will encourage physicians to aggressively treat the pain of terminal illness. Opponents of the bill say it will actually discourage doctors from prescribing more drugs or stronger drugs. The disagreement stems from language in the bill that authorizes stiff punishment for physicians who use federally controlled substances to hasten death. Doctors could face 20 years to life in prison and lose their medical licenses if they hasten the death of a patient by prescribing controlled substances. The bill gives law enforcement officials and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration authority to investigate and prosecute doctors who allegedly hasten death with controlled substances. Eighmey, of Compassion in Dying, said that provision allows people with no medical expertise to evaluate a physician�s intent. "Doctors tell us they have a hundred other patients and can�t afford to put their professional license in jeopardy for one patient who wants to do this," Eighmey said. No date has been set for a Senate vote on the Pain Relief Promotion Act. Smith said he expects a vote to come before October. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has said he will filibuster (talk without stopping) on the Senate floor to prevent a vote, even though he personally opposes assisted suicide. The House already has passed a similar bill. President Clinton would have to sign the act for it to become law. Oregon officials have said they would challenge the law in the U.S. Supreme Court. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA