A physician-assisted suicide initiative failed in Washington State in 1991. Similar attempts to pass assisted suicide legislation have failed to pass in 25 other states. In this country, only Oregon has legalized assisted suicide.

Presently, signatures are being gathered in order to place Initiative 1000 on the ballot in Washington State in November 2008. If enough signatures are collected by July 3rd of this year, assisted suicide will once again be voted on in Washington.

The Church teaches that our obligation is to nurture and support life, but never to harm or destroy it.  Our teaching distinguishes between killing—which is an intentional action or omission to bring about the death of another, and allowing to die—which is withholding or withdrawing treatment that is no longer helping a patient and may actually be harming them. The morality of any action is judged by one’s intention. In the case of assisted suicide, the intention is to cause the death of another person.

Human beings are by nature social and interdependent. No one person’s freedom is absolute. Individual freedom must be weighed against the needs of the common good, which should be reflected in our laws. Therefore, our laws should enable us to live together in society, upholding our common values, and protecting vulnerable and defenseless people. 

Death will come to us all at some point, and when that time comes, if healing is no longer possible, then patients should be provided good palliative (comfort) care.  Instead of seeking ways to end lives, we should strive, as compassionate people, to seek life-giving ways to care for dying persons among us.

For more information on the issue of physician-assisted suicide and Initiative 1000, go to the following:

• Read Fr. Paul Pluth's Homily to St. Anne's Parish concerning Assisted Suicide.  "I wouldn’t trade these days for anything."
• Paid workers are trying to gather the almost 225,000 signatures required to qualify I-1000 for the November ballot.  Click here to read the main points of Initiative 1000.
• Read about the dangers of I-1000:  What You Need to Know About Initiative 1000.
• WSCC has prepared a one pager on The Value of Human Life, Public Policy, and Assisted Suicide.
• The Bishops in the Michigan wrote a pastoral letter in 1997 entitled, “Living and Dying According to the Voice of Faith: A Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of the State of Michigan” which can be found at
  http://www.micatholicconference.org/public_policy/living_and_dying.php
• The Michigan Catholic Conference produced a video entitled, “Assisted Suicide: The Catholic Perspective” that can be viewed through their website at
  http://www.micatholicconference.org/media_gallery/thumbnails.php?album=9
• “Five Oregonians to Remember,” an article from the Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation is available at http://www.pccef.org/articles/art60.htm
• "Physician-assisted Suicide: The Wrong Approach to End of Life Care." by Michael Gloth, MD
  http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/03rlgloth.shtml
• "Dying Well, Assisted Suicide, and the Law" by
  M. Cathleen Kaveny, M.A., M. Phil., J.D., Ph.D.
  http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/99rlkave.shtml
• “No Assisted Suicide” - Coalition Against Assisted Suicide http://www.noassistedsuicide.com/index.html
• Washington Not Dead Yet    http://noassistedsuicide.blogspot.com
• “Analysis of Washington Assisted Suicide Initiative, I-1000, by Rita Marker, Executive Director, International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/washin.htm
• Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation
  Statement for the BBC from Dr. William Toffler,  PCCEF’s National Director, can be found at http://www.pccef.org/whoweare/memberviewpoints.htm