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95 Chapter Seven A Disability Studies Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide There has been a curious, in my mind, linkage between disability identity and the fraught area of physician-assisted suicide (Pas). in some circles of disability activism it has become a truism that you can’t be for disability and for Pas along with euthanasia.1 There is a strong pressure in our field to toe the line on this issue and to see any attempt to make distinctions between Pas and euthanasia as part of a “slippery slope” argument. however, i believe it is very possible to be for assisted suicide while maintaining a disability identity. This essay will attempt to make that case. in speaking for Pas, i want to make the obvious point that i am not opposing disability studies or its tenets. rather i am advocating disability studies in the fullest sense. i would hope that the field is one that encourages discussion and debate about all issues. and i welcome others to join me or to disagree with me. i want to state my position clearly first. i am for Pas as defined by the laws now in force in oregon and Washington (and would be glad to see at least one further safeguard included—a mandatory consultation with a disability advocate). My position aligns with that of autonomy, the disability group in favor of Pas.2 Under the oregon law a state resident diagnosed with six months or less to live is allowed to ask, in writing, for a lethal drug—in this case a prescription for an overdose of barbiturates.The letter of request must be witnessed by two people, one of whom cannot benefit materially from the death. a doctor is not allowed to suggest or originate the idea of killing oneself to a patient. Two doctors must agree that the person has six months or less to live. They may recommend a consultation 96 • THE END OF NORMAL with a psychiatrist if necessary. There is a two-week waiting period, after which the person must be reminded that they can rescind their request. if the person still wishes to continue, the doctor sends a written prescription to a nonhospital pharmacist, and the person or a friend must retrieve the drugs from the pharmacist. Then the person can do whatever he or she wants with the drugs. The doctor is not required to be present at the suicide unless the person asks the doctor to be present. and the doctor cannot administer the drug. as i said, i agree with this law, and i feel that it has built-in safeguards, but in future laws i would want legislators to include a consult with a disability advocate. Many people use the terms PAS and euthanasia interchangeably, but a key point is that Pas is not euthanasia. euthanasia is when a doctor kills a patient. Physician-assisted suicide is when a person kills him- or herself with drugs that can only be gotten legally with a prescription. a better name would be “self-administered, legal overdose.” i am inherently a pacifist and against murder in all forms, with the usual qualifiers about selfdefense and just wars, but i am for suicide under these conditions. suicide is, by the way, legal in all the states of the United states. Physician-assisted suicide is currently only legal in the states of oregon, Washington, and Montana, although similar laws have been proposed in california, new york, and other states. To me, oregon’s law seems a reasonable one that permits people to die with their families present in a relatively peaceful way. The current alternative to Pas is that a person would have to die by illegal means, with a family member, friend, or physician engaging in a criminal act. The methods now available in all non-Pas states involve a violent act like shooting oneself, placing a plastic bag over the head, crashing a car deliberately, turning on the gas jets, putting a hose from the exhaust into one’s car, or jumping from a roof. none of these would permit a person to leave this world with family members and friends present, with candles, music, or whatever enhancements the dying person requests. and anyone who has ever had a dear one or relative kill themselves in one of these ways can testify how horrible it is to walk into a room and see that person with their brains blown out or laid out...

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