Colorado passes assisted suicide bill

Coloradans have decided that terminally ill patients should be allowed to end their lives with the assistance of a physician.

The state joins five others, including California, with so-called “death with dignity” laws that grant terminally diagnosed patients the right to take life-ending, doctor-prescribed sleeping medication. Targeted as a “right-to-die law,” Colorado joined Washington, Oregon, California, Vermont, and Montana.

“This is a historic day for all Coloradans, and an especially tremendous victory for terminally ill adults who worry about horrific suffering in their final days,”Compassion & Choices Action Network President Barbara Coombs Lee said.

Vote sign photo/ Leslie Andrachuk via pixabay

“We are delighted the significant investment paid off and are proud to have lent the expertise and resources to empower the voters of Colorado. We congratulate Colorado for becoming the sixth state where more people have peace of mind at the end of life and fewer suffer unnecessarily,” she added.

The vote was very one-sided with nearly 65% approving of the propsition (64.5 – 35.4%).

In recent years, Democrats in the state Legislature had attempted to pass legislation allowing for assisted suicide, but were rejected by Republicans in the split Legislature.

Opposition to the measure came mostly from religious groups.

“Prop. 106 seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia as those terms are traditionally defined,” said Choice is an Illusion’s Margaret Dore. . “Prop. 106 is described as ‘aid in dying,’ but its reach is not limited to dying people. ‘Eligible’ persons may have years, even decades, to live.”

According to Dore, such legislations open opportunities for “perfect crimes,” since “no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death.

“Even if the patient struggled, who would know?” Dore wondered.

Colorado, which has an electorate that is roughly evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters, has tilted much more liberal in recent years.