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Controversial pain relief bill wins support
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9-20-99 Washington. A bill that opponents say threatens to nullify the Oregon law legalizing physician-assisted suicide passed the House Judiciary Committee last week by a 16-8 vote. A full House vote has not yet been scheduled. The stated intent of the Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999 is to "promote pain management and palliative care without permitting assisted suicide and euthanasia." Physicians would not be allowed to assist in a suicide, regardless of state law. Supporters say the bill-introduced by Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich.-would clarify that physicians and other licensed healthcare providers are free to prescribe controlled medicines for better treatment of pain and suffering, even if doing so increases a patient's risk of death. "In light of the movement toward physician-assisted suicide, it's important to put the brake down and force people to think through the alternatives," said Mary Thompson, MSN, RN, national director of the Madison, Wis.-based Nurses Christian Fellowship. "This bill will do that." But if passed, the bill would drive assisted suicide back underground, say those who oppose the bill. "At the end of life, there's virtually no line between the medical control of severe pain and the dosage that's going to kill the patient," said Barbara Coombs Lee, RN, executive director of the Compassion in Dying Federation based in Portland, Ore. "Doctors know this, so this bill will only make them overcautious and unwilling to aggressively treat their patients' pain." Opponents also argue that the bill would shift authority for determining legitimate medical practice from the state medical licensing authorities to the federal government.
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