Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) told the Senate, "Democracy in Oregon has won at least a temporary victory." Had the bill been inserted in the budget package, Wyden had threatened a filibuster. Sponsor of the bill, Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), promised to bring the bill back to the Senate when it convenes again in January.
The bill’s defeat can be attributed in part to forceful and concentrated action by many organizations and individuals, including ABCD’s members and concerned advocates across the country. Many contacted their congressional representatives and described the bill’s negative ramifications.
As described in previous issues of the Exchange, the bill would have allowed the Drug Enforcement Administration to determine when a physician has prescribed high doses of medications with an intent to aid in suicide, rather than to manage intractable pain. Those who opposed the bill recognize that public approval of the right to assisted suicide evidences a problem in the health care community. If Americans were more certain that they would receive good, quality care at the end of life, perhaps the luster of assisted suicide would wear off. As Ira Byock, M.D., noted in his article printed in the Sept. 30 Oregonian, "In the realm of public policy, success does not turn on whether (PAS) is legal or illegal, but rather whether the public perceives it to be necessary."
The threat of such legislation continues, and ABCD will continue to work with the Coalition to Improve Pain Management, which was formed when this bill was first introduced. Members of Congress must recognize the need for discussions on improving quality in end-of-life care, and get programs to improve end-of-life care on the federal agenda.