Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Rita
Marker
by Jennifer Mesko, managing editor
Has assisted suicide gone from something considered terribly tragic to just another form
of medical treatment?
Twenty-three years ago, Rita Marker co-founded the International Task Force on
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
"The task force's main role is to make sure patients have the opportunity to get the care
and treatment they need and want," she said, "rather than giving doctors the power to end
patients' lives by lethal injection or a prescription for a lethal overdose."
The task force also works in the legal arena. Staff members often are called to testify
before state legislatures to analyze bills. Next week, Marker will testify in Wisconsin.
As the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaches, Marker spoke with CitizenLink about
why life is valuable, in all of its forms.
1. Did assisted suicide go away after Jack Kevorkian was convicted of murder?
Not really. You have Jack Kevorkian on one extreme. The other extreme was the people
wanting to protect vulnerable patients. Now, when you have someone saying, "Let's
regulate it," they get put in the middle and become viewed, in many ways, as the
moderate middle.
It always has been an upper-class debate. You don't see poor people who are asking for
the so-called "right" to assisted suicide.
2. Explain the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Assisted suicide refers to a crime in which the person who ends up dead does the last act,
but someone else has assisted them in doing that. For example, the doctor has written a
prescription that is intended to cause the death of the patient if the prescription is taken as
prescribed. In most states, that is punished by about 12 years in prison.
Euthanasia refers to a death in which the person who ends up dead did not take the last
act, like a doctor giving a lethal injection. Euthanasia is considered homicide in every
state, and is prosecuted the same as murder would be.
What's already happened in Oregon — and is proposed in Washington — is transforming
the crime of assisted suicide into a medical treatment. It is a massive change in public
policy. You go from something that is considered terribly tragic and, in fact, illegal, into
something that is considered a medical treatment, just one of the other medical options.
3. Washington state is pursuing a ballot initiative to legalize assisted suicide. What's
going on there?
This isn't the first time Washington has faced this. There was an initiative on the ballot in
1991 to permit euthanasia and assisted suicide. Ironically, part of the reason that failed
was thanks to Jack Kevorkian. Jack's leering face was still on the front pages of
newspapers, and I think when Washington voters went in to vote, they saw the face of
Jack Kevorkian and said, "No way." It has also been proposed in the Washington state
Legislature on several occasions, and has failed.
This time, it's going to be a very, very, very pitched battle, for several reasons. Former
Gov. Booth Gardner, who is exceptionally popular, is the spokesperson for the campaign
for assisted suicide. He has said he will dedicate the rest of his life to passing this. He
also has said he will put his personal resources behind it, and that's no small matter —
he's a multi-multi-millionaire. On top of that, he has Parkinson's disease, which makes
him a very sympathetic figure. He is going to be a formidable spokesperson in favor of
assisted suicide.
Assisted-suicide folks try to say this is only for those who are terminally ill adults, who
are competent, who have six months or less to live. Gardner has let it be known this is
intended as just a first step. If Washington joins with Oregon, then this will soften up
other states.
4. The abortion fight takes up so much time and energy. Why is it so important to
protect life in all of its forms?
You really can't predict how someone is going to stand related to assisted suicide based
on their stand on abortion, or based on their political affiliation, or their religious
affiliation. It's far more difficult for people to recognize the need to protect vulnerable
patients at the end of life, or people with severe disabilities, because many people who
are opposed to abortion see a cuddly little baby. When you're talking about adults, and
maybe a cranky great-grandma — and I can say that because I'm a great-grandma
sometimes known to be cranky — it's just not that cuddly.
We who oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide often send messages that are very, very
counter-productive, such things as, "I don't want to be a burden on my family." What
message does that send? We have to be very careful there. There is a tremendous amount
of education needed.
5. What motivates assisted-suicide activists to keep fighting?
By and large, these are people who are extremely well-meaning, extremely misguided.
They have good intent, because they believe this truly is a way to end suffering. They
really believe in what they are doing. They are extremely dedicated. And that probably is
the biggest danger. Those of us who want to protect life often say, "OK, we won that
one," and then we go back to whatever we've been doing. The assisted-suicide folks, they
keep working and working and working. We should never underestimate their dedication.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about the Washington ballot initiative, visit the Family Policy Institute of
Washington Web site.
Visit the task force's Web site.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational
purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
