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Wednesday, June 28, 1995 ~ North Shore News - 11

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Terminally i!l fear dying alone and in pain
PALLIATIVE CARE. profes. 0a" : ~ as
sionals have to start blowing
their own horas if they want to,
prevent the legalization of
euthanasia, according toa hos-
pice nurse from. Oregon.

By Kate Zimmerman

Contributing Writer

Donna I fowell spoke to 30 mem-
hers of the Lions Gate Hospice
Society alan annual general meet-
ing held ae tbe Lions Gate Hospital
June 24.00 7 : en AE ; :

; She said palliive care. profes- ( . : . ;
. S)ee sedans ~ Se o . . es ve a 4 XS TAS 7 ‘4 y,
siomuls alleviate the suffering of the . germ [Bibipadlonss ; : SSS ee

terminally il and therefore have the "Present This Coupon Fon
power fo stent (he tide of support for _ Present This Coupon For:

m7 : ge
physician-assisted suicide. ce _ Bi : :

“But you knew what? she 7 : ; ees L FREE MOVIE PENTAL
asked, “We've got to sell the mes- Be ; ay ;
sage." .&§ ; oe : { ; Offer valid to July 31, ‘95

Howell works Girough the has.” : — & ; Valid at Westview Store Only

pice of the Sacred Heart in Eugene. si Benda ty “, 4 . “] or family pe }
Oregon, with patients who are dying — & : i Samal ede my coupon pe unm) Per monn

in their own homes. “Bee Y , . Any movie, SNES, L.D., Including New .

During 17 years of personally Pon:
tending 10, 1,000 dying people. she
said only three have attempted to acct ania
lake their own lives. : oe i _ : NEWS photo Paul McGrath

But in’ Oregon. .as cit is in HOSPICE NURSE Donna Howell of Eugene, Oregon, recently
Hollaid, it may soon be legal for spoke about. palliative care and euthanasia at the Lions Gate
doctors to kill their patients. Hospice Society annual general meeting. ;

Oregon is the only. state in the
U.S. whose legislature has passed a
proposition allowing dactors to pre-

_ scribe pills that would end the fife of
a-terminally ill patient.

A judge has stayed the legisla-
tion, but. Howell worries that
Oregon (home ‘of the pro-euthanasia
Hemlock Society), other states, and
Canada may all end up allowing
doctors to help patients to kifl them-
selves. . :

Howell is. critical’ of the pro-
euthanasia: movement, which she
describes as. "a middle-class. phe-
nomenon.” :

The rural poor, inhabitants of the
inner city and migrant workers do
not ask for ductor-assisted suicide,
she said. It is yuppies who do not
understand the difference between
committing suicide oneself and ask-
ing a doctor to. do the killing.
“Basically, people have a hard time
taking control of their own dying.”

Howell claimed that in Holland,
diabetes and lung disease are con-
sidered to be terminal illnesses and
some peopie curry cards saving
“Please do not kill me without my
permission.”

She was critical of author Derek
Humphry, who wrote the ‘suicide

» guide-book - Final Exit, The

v. Practicalities of Sélf-Deliverance

—and Assisted Suicide for the Dying...
which she said offered readers mis-,
information on foolproof tech-
niques. Howell also expressed skep-
ticism about the-American Dr. Jack
Kevorkian, who has fought a public
battle, for” the. legalization of
euthanasia for many years. Howell
noted that Kevorkian euphemisdeal-
ly refers to doctor-assisted suicide
as “self-determination.” :

“dack’s goal is more or Tess’,
human; experiment. getting rid of
the “unworthy to five” as he calls

“them. she said. Though” Howell

“strongly opposes Kevorkian’s view?"
point, she said that “Doctor Death”
has at least galvanized people. into
thinking about pain and suffering. ©

People who. are: terminally ill
have two) primary. fears.” said
Howell: they don’twant-to die in : ale = ,

-pain. and they don’t want) to die: an ea

one. Hospice care can relieve both : ceca a . EVERYDAY P
“those worries and fielp people live:

out their lives with dignity. _

“L believe the true value of soci-
ety is how people take care of peo- = : ; ‘ HitLaw.

Te who sare dependent.” Howell a} A Luekakuek'W;
said. “The hospice way, believe in’ i . ;
iny heart. is the better way.” :

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