booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

There’s nothing dignified about suicide in any fashion.”
Hinckley said she had worked with the terminally ill for 35 years. “When quality of
life is outweighed by suffering – by intractable pain, intractable nausea and a humiliating
loss of dignity,” she said aid in dying was the mark of a compassionate society.
* * *
On July 2, 2008, I-1000 supporters, led by the former governor, presented the
Secretary of State with 320,000 initiative signatures, nearly 100,000 more than required.
They assembled on the steps of the Capitol for a news conference. Arrayed on the steps
below were about 60 opponents, including Doug Gardner. They recited the Lord’s Prayer,
said Hail Marys and distributed “No Assisted Suicide” cards. But “they hushed when the
elder Gardner asked them to respect his right to speak,” Carol M. Ostrom wrote in The
Seattle Times. “We’ve passed the first hurdle with room to spare. I think we’re going to go
all the way,” Gardner said. “I’ll bet on it.”
Nancy Niedzielski spoke next: “Two years ago this month, my husband died of brain
cancer. He became incontinent, had double vision, couldn’t close his eyes, lost his hearing,
couldn’t control his arms and legs, had painful muscle contractions and lived daily with the
fear and anxiety of knowing his suffering would only get worse. Randy was very intelligent
and was fully aware of what his death would be like. He was outspoken that he wanted aid
in dying. He asked me to promise him that I would change the law in Washington State.
Please help me fulfill the final promise I made to my husband.” She signed the last petition
and held it to the sky. “This is for you, Randy!” she declared, tears streaming down her face.
Carefully measuring his steps on the smooth marble, Booth made his way down to
the sidewalk and greeted French, who again told him “you’re one of us.” French said he
was deeply concerned about how an assisted suicide law would be monitored, since the
disabled were already “disenfranchised and secluded.” Booth vowed to use his influence
– “if there is any left” – to make sure the safeguards were enforced. French asked why the
law was needed. “You and I could do it on our own, and nobody would be harmed,” he
said. “I don’t see it that way,” Booth said. They parted amicably. Over the final four months
the gloves came off, but their friendship survived.
* * *
With I-1000 handily winning the fundraising race, opponents branded Death with
Dignity “a dangerous deception” and framed the issue as an affront to all thoughtful
people. “It’s a monstrously selfish act,” said the Rev. Paul R. Smith of Seattle’s West Side
Presbyterian Church. “It says my own will and my desire and my comfort are the only thing
that’s important to me. The effect on people who love me and or even the impact on the
whole of society – whether measurable or not – is of no consequence. ... It devalues our
sense of human community.”
Physicians said they had seen “some absolutely phenomenal” recoveries that
defied dispassionate clinical verdicts that a patient had only a few months to live. In any
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