Washington State passed Initiative 1000, which means it has legalized assisted suicide. Starting today, Washington residents who are terminally ill and want doctors to end their lives because they can’t take it any longer are covered by law. 

 

According to the law passed after an overwhelming vote by state residents, any terminally ill patient aged over 18 who is mentally competent may ask doctors to prescribe him or her drugs that will then be administered with the purpose of ending his or her life. The terminally ill people will be assisted in their death by a health care professional. 

 

The law allows hospitals to chose whether they want to offer this “service” to people, but if they chose not to, they must refer the patient to a hospital or health care provider that does.

 

As expected, it requires a bit of paperwork. 

 

Terminally ill people who chose to end their lives must first make two oral requests for death (the requests must be 15 days apart), submit a written request witnessed by two people, get the approval of two doctors who must certify that the patient is in fact in the terminally ill state and has six months or less to live. 

 

Washington is the second state to legalize assisted suicide behind Oregon. Since it was legalized there in 1988, only 401 people have taken advantage of the option of the "Death With Dignity Act."

 

About 20 hospitals in Washington already said they have decided not to offer the “service.” There are approximately 98 hospitals in Washington.