By James Faulk
May 31, 2005
The Eureka Times-Standard
EUREKA -- Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Berg, recently quoted in Time magazine for her efforts to legalize doctor-assisted suicide, has again been the subject of a national news report on the issue.
CBS News this week aired a report on Assembly Bill 654 -- the California Compassionate Choices Act -- as it sailed through committee and headed for the Assembly floor where the report said it will set the stage for "a heated statewide debate."
The story centered around California resident Polly Crouch, a terminally ill woman who says, "I've always been in control of my life; I'd also like to be in control of my death."
Should the pain become unbearable, she says in the report, she wants to be able to end it.
"Californians want this right," Berg said. "And whether or not there's the political will or the political courage to make it a right is yet to be seen."
The story also reports the varied opponents to the bill, from the Catholic Church to some advocates for the disabled who say it is a ploy for insurance companies and others to get rid of "the sickest, costliest clients.'
The report ends with a sentence describing the breadth of the debate: "Californians are finding that simple question has no easy answer.'
Time's April edition looked at euthanasia issues in a longer piece examining the fallout from the Terri Schiavo debate.
Part of the magazine's report looked at Oregon's assisted suicide bill and the one proposed for California, brought forward by Berg.
Near the end of the article was a brief quote from Berg, who has co-sponsored California's version of the assisted suicide bill. The author points out that more and more doctors are willing to quietly help people die, even in states other than Oregon.
"Aid in dying happens in every state," said Berg in the article. "We need to bring it out of the closet, impose legal safeguards and careful oversight."
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