X-Message-Number: 8734 Date: Fri, 07 Nov 1997 10:05:28 -0700 From: David Brandt-Erichsen <> Subject: More on Oregon Abridged from the PORTLAND OREGONIAN (Thursday Nov 6/97) LEGISLATORS DISCUSS SPECIAL SESSION Some think the suicide law still needs a little refining By Gail Kinsey Hill of The Oregonian staff No sooner did Oregon voters powerfully confirm they want to keep physician-assisted suicide than legislators stepped up discussions about a special session to amend the law. The goal would be to address such issues as residency requirements and legal immunity for pharmacists. But two influential Republican legislators said Wednesday that allowing lethal injections also should be discussed. Leading lawmakers said they plan to meet among themselves and with Gov. John Kitzhaber in the next couple of weeks to discuss perceived weaknesses in the law. If agreement appears possible, they might call a special legislative session early in 1998. "I think it's doable," said Sen. Neil Bryant, R-Bend, who led discussions on the law during the 1997 Legislature. "I think there are some problems we need to deal with." Among the possibilities, Bryant said, is allowing lethal injections, a flash-point issue sure to reignite the emotion and controversy that caused lawmakers to put Measure 51 on Tuesday's ballot to repeal the law. Oregon's law bans lethal injections but allows doctors to prescribe lethal drugs, most likely barbiturates, for terminally ill patients. [Note from DBE: The law does not ban lethal injections if they are self-administered -- only if they are administered by someone else.] Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, said he would decide within a few weeks whether a special session is likely. The next step, he said, would be to form a committee to draft specific legislation, take testimony and build a consensus. House leaders were less inclined to support a special session. House Speaker Lynn Lundquist, R-Powell Butte, said the issue is too complex and controversial. A spokesman for Kitzhaber said the governor first would have to see a plan from legislative leaders and receive assurance the votes existed to approve it. Some groups could create pressure for the Legislature to act. The Oregon Medical Association, which supported repeal, has not decided what to do. But doctors have "some issues they'd like to see addressed," said James Kronenberg, associate director. Kronenberg said the medical field is concerned about ensuring proper diagnosis of terminal illness and depression as well as the efficacy of oral medication. Although lethal injections are controversial, he said, "It seems logical to me that it would be something this or any other medical group would want to have looked at." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8734