Terminally ill patients in Wisconsin could legally receive assistance in ending their lives, under a new bill proposed by state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, and state Rep. Frank Boyle, D-Amnicon Lake, but proponents and critics alike say the legislation faces an uphill battle.
Although there is no specific ban on assisted suicide in Wisconsin, there also are no guidelines in place to regulate the process, according to Risser.
\There should be stringent safeguards,"" Risser said Friday at a Capitol press conference about the bill. ""We don't want individuals such as [Dr. Jack] Kevorkian making up their own rules.""
Under the bill, the individual must first be mentally sound and judged terminally ill by two physicians. The patient may then request medication from his or her doctor to end the patient's life. The doctor may or may not be present while the patient takes the medicine.
Within the following 15 days, the individual must give his or her physician a written request signed by three witnesses. Forty-eight hours after the written request, the patient must then make another oral request and finally, the physician can write the prescription.
Regardless of these provisos, critics say the legislation is irresponsible. Susan Armacost, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said assisted suicide makes doctors abandon their patients and also could make nonterminal patients think they deserve to die too.
""Instead of saying 'yes, we're going to kill people when they ask for it,' why shouldn't we be doing more to educate the medical profession regarding proper pain management?"" Armacost said.
Her group will speak out against the bill even though they think it has no chance of passing, she said.
""What we're very concerned about is, the more people talk about it the more it sounds like a good idea,"" Armacost said.
Risser said he was more optimistic about the bill's future, although he acknowledged that it faces tough opposition from conservative members of the state Legislature. Similar legislation has failed in the past.
Another proponent of the bill, Faye Girsh of the Hemlock Society, said at the press conference that the issue had bipartisan support. She agreed with Risser that suffering patients deserve to have a say in the type of treatment they receive.
""Most people have a long, drawn-out course of dying and they need to have a choice,"" she said.
