X-Message-Number: 8101
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 13:05:21 -0700
From: David Brandt-Erichsen <>
Subject: CRYONICS Oregon update

Under the headline "Measure 16 Foes Use Courts to Stall Law" the Oregonian
newspaper for April 16 reports the following:

        Opponents of Oregon's doctor-assisted suicide law asked the 9th
Circuit US Court of Appeals on Tuesday for yet another delay of Measure
16.
        If granted, the request would prevent implementation of the
nation's first law legalizing doctor-aided death while opponents file an
appeal with the US Supreme Court.
        If the appeals court, based in San Francisco, rejects the request,
opponents will ask the Supreme Court to stall the law while the justices
consider a formal appeal, said James Bopp, an attorney representing
opponents.  Such requests go to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who oversees
the West Coast states of the 9th Circuit.
        Conceivably, all requests to delay could be denied, meaning the
law passed by voters in l994 could go into effect in a matter of weeks or
even days.  But supporters of Measure 16 say that's unlikely, considering
how determined opponents are.
        "We're in the middle of a piece of litigation that has one court
below it and one court above it," said Eli Stutsman, representing Oregon
Right to Die.  "It's by no means over."
        On Friday, the 9th Circuit Court denied a request to reconsider
the February ruling giving the go-ahead to Measure 16.  The appeals court
says since no one has been harmed by the assisted-suicide law, opponents
have no legal standing.
        "As soon as the law goes into effect, we will have standing," said
Bopp, "and we will be able to challenge.  We'll just have to go through
this all over again.  That, it seems to me, is a waste of time while
putting people's lives at risk."
        In Salem,(where the Oregon legislature sits), opponents also have
been trying to block Measure 16 by persuading the legislature to delay it,
tinker with it, or send it back to the voters for reconsideration.
        The legislature has been weighing its options for more than a
month, but no bill has emerged from a subcommittee led by Rep.Ron Sunseri
(R.Gresham).   Sunseri has scheduled a subcommittee work session for next
Wednesday.

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