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Why Did Voters Reject Michigan's Physician-Assisted Suicide Initiative?, Yale Kamisar
Why Did Voters Reject Michigan's Physician-Assisted Suicide Initiative?, Yale Kamisar
Articles
In November 1997, when Oregon voters reaffirmed their support for doctor-assisted suicide, some commentators called it a turning point for the "right to die" movement. But the lopsided defeat of a similar proposal in Michigan is a better barometer: in general, assisted suicide continues to fare badly in the political arena.
Why The Proposal To Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide In Michigan Failed, Yale Kamisar
Why The Proposal To Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide In Michigan Failed, Yale Kamisar
Articles
Some commentators and participants in the national debate over physician-assisted suicide (PAS) made much of the fact that in 1997 Oregon voters reaffirmed their support for assisted suicide by a much larger margin than the initial 1994 vote. The state legislature had put the initiative (which had initially passed by a 5149% vote) back on the ballot for an unprecedented second vote. This time the initiative was reaffirmed overwhelmingly, 60-40%. Barbara Coombs Lee, Executive Director of Compassion in Dying (an organization that counsels people considering PAS and one of the plaintiffs in Washington v. Glucksberg, 1997), hailed the second Oregon …