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Illinois Federation

For Right to Life

Daily News

Friday, November 14, 2008

Doctors, Hospitals Stand Against Washington's Assisted-Suicide Law

 

Doctors and hospitals in Washington state are standing strong for life after voters legalized physician-assisted suicide last week.

 

Hospice of Spokane has said its mission is to care and support its patients, not help them kill themselves.

 

Spokane's Sacred Heart Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in the Northwest, also opposes assisted suicide.

 

"This position is grounded in our basic values of respect for the sacredness of life, compassionate care of dying and vulnerable persons, and respect for the integrity of medical, nursing and allied health professions," according to a statement on the hospital's Web site.

 

"We do not believe health care providers should ever be put in a position of aiding a patient in taking his or her own life. … We will continue to advocate for increased support and resources for hospice and palliative care programs, at the Medical Center and in our community, that provide compassionate, pain-relieving comfort and care for those who are at the end of life."

 

Wesley J. Smith, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, said no doctor can be forced to help others kill themselves.

 

"A powerful message could be sent if physicians around the state — if hospitals, nursing homes, hospices — refuse publicly to participate in assisted suicide, and put plaques and certificates up on their walls and lobbies saying, 'This is an assisted-suicide free zone,' " he told OneNewsNow.com.

 

Contact: Jennifer Mesko

Source: CitizenLink

Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org

Publish Date: November 13, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081114_2.htm

 

 

The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection for the disabled and the elderly.   Click here to learn more about the IFRL.