State legislators ban assisted suicide

The state House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that - once approved by Gov. Engler - will ban assisted suicide in Michigan and impose criminal penalties on anyone involved in aiding the death of an individual.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. William Van Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville), passed by a vote of 66 to 40 after it had already passed the Senate.

"This is a strong, straight-forward bill that bans assisted suicide," Van Regenmorter said. "I think it's a great, strong bi-partisan vote. This sends a powerful message."

Before representatives passed the measure, they voted down a proposal that would have put the issue on November's election ballot, as advocated by the group Merian's Friends. The group, named for former Ann Arbor resident Merian Frederick, was founded to lobby for a ballot initiative that would legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

Rep. Ted Wallace (D-Detroit), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sponsored the defeated bill. He worked to pass the bill that would have put the Merian's Friends initiative on the ballot, regardless of whether the group collected the 250,000 signatures required for a petition drive.

"I was willing to support (the ban on assisted suicide) and put on a temporary ban if they were willing to let the people of Michigan vote on it," Wallace said.

John Truscott, spokesperson for Gov. Engler, said Engler has consistently supported a ban on assisted suicide and will probably sign the bill in the coming weeks.

"The governor has always said that if they put legislation on his desk, he will sign it," Truscott said.

Truscott said putting the issue on the ballot is unnecessary.

"These people are the elected officials for the people of Michigan, so there's no reason to go on the ballot," Truscott said.

Rep. George Mans (D-Trenton), who voted for the ban, said he agrees with Truscott, adding that legislators are sent to Lansing to make these types of decisions.

"I feel that we are elected up here to deal with all types of issues," Mans said. "I didn't know why (assisted suicide) would have to be split out. That was my role today."

Laura Baird (D-Okemos), vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said that although she does not completely agree with Merian's Friends, she feels some legislators are succumbing to the "800 lb. gorilla" that is the right to life lobby.

"I'm not sold on the language of Merian's Friends. But, the majority of the legislature is right to life; that's the lobby they follow," Baird said.

Merian's Friends Chair Ed Pierce said this legislation contradicts what the people of Michigan want, citing polls that show a majority of people in the state are in favor of assisted suicide.

"The legislature is thumbing their nose at the people. The polls consistently show that people want to be able to time their own deaths," Pierce said.

Law Prof. Yale Kamisar, who published his first article on assisted suicide 40 years ago, said "the reason we have this law is to stop Jack Kevorkian." Kevorkian is a former doctor who has aided a reported 99 people in ending their own lives.

"It's very hard, despite the polls, to enact a law because there are going to be victims either way," Kamisar said.

Many people are in support of assisted suicide due to the media's "heart wrenching portrayals" of some patients, Kamisar said. He said many people fail to look at the potentially damaging ramifications of creating a law banning or legalizing assisted suicide.

"People say 'it's my business.' But it's not your business, because a law affects everybody," Kamisar said.

Pierce said he does not think this law will stop Kevorkian.

"Probably Dr. Kevorkian will continue to do as he has. He will continue to be prosecuted, and juries will continue to find him not guilty."

Kamisar said Kevorkian has avoided penalties under the law by claiming he fell under a provision that allowed patients to receive increased medication to relieve pain - even if that medication could hasten death. The new legislation could make Kevorkian vulnerable to future prosecution.

"This law was written to prevent Kevorkian from coming under that exception," Kamisar said. "You could never have convicted him without this statute, and it's still going to be hard."

Kevorkian has "put more pressure on the legislature" to act, said Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor).

Merian's Friends treasurer Carol Poenisch said she agrees that the law was written in hopes of stopping Kevorkian, who helped her mother, Merian, end her life in 1993. She said she thinks Kevorkian will be tried under the new law, but "juries will side with patients, not legislators."

Poenisch said she is "certainly grateful for the help he gave my mother."

Some legislators said they don't think assisted suicide is an issue that should be regulated by the government.

"It's a choice issue. It's the most intimate decision one can make. I don't think government should be dictating to citizens in these matters," Brater said.

Wallace said the decision to take one's life should be individual, but the state must examine cases in which it is questionable if the patient is making the decision.

"Primarily, it's an issue between patient and physician, but the state has an interest so that the patient is not overreached. It's the patient's decision," Wallace said.

The government has certain responsibilities it cannot overlook, and assisted suicide falls under these obligations, Van Regenmorter said.

"The legislature has a couple of fundamental obligations," Van Regenmorter said. "One is to provide for the protection of its citizens."

Truscott said Kevorkian's efforts have played a great role in the evolution of assisted suicide.

"It used to be (a personal issue), until Jack Kevorkian started with his antics. Now, it's not done carefully; it's not done rationally. He has eliminated the possibility of rational debate," Truscott said.

Although the bill passed, it does not receive "immediate effect status," which would allow it to take effect this summer. Instead, it must be signed, and will not take effect until April 1, 1999.

"What this would do is give (Kevorkian) another year to practice his deadly work," Van Regenmorter said. He also said he hopes some representatives reconsider their votes so the bill can take immediate effect.

With the campaign season just around the corner, many people are speculating about the impact assisted suicide will have on candidates.

Truscott said he does not think the bill's passage will be a major campaign issue because it "won't have taken effect (and) it won't be tested."

But Brater said she thinks assisted suicide is "certainly going to be an election issue."

Pierce said he believes that in the November election, some legislators will be hurt by the votes they cast yesterday on the issue. "When you ignore what the people want, you get in trouble," Pierce said.

Mans said the debate over assisted suicide is not over.

"This issue is so volatile and so emotional that anything can happen in the next year," he said. "We haven't heard the last of this issue."

03-13-98