Oregon daily emerald., March 29, 1994, Page 4, Image 4

Judge’s widow wants law to allow assisted suicide
SAIIM (AIM
The widow of a
Multnomah (iounl\
judge who died after
n painful battle with
t:an< er has lea ome a
leading volunteer for a i ampaign to allow
physii inns to help terminally ill patients
commit suicide
l.dvthe Steinbcx k, 0 t, stuffs envelopes
and performs other tasks at the "Oregon
Kight to Die" headquarters in Portland in
hopes of getting the measure on the
statewide Iwillot in November.
”1 don’t i are what |obs I do." Steinfxx k
says "1 just want tins to pass
Steinboi k wasn't always .u live in the
"death with dignity" movement
Up until recent years, she foi useif her
attention on raising two daughters with
her husband, now deceased ( in tut judge
Irv Steinfxx.k. and on her job as a buyer
for Nordstrom's department store
Kdythe Steinfxx.k's life ctianged forev
er m ltblii, when her husband of -42 years
was diagnosed with inoperable i am er of
the esophagus, who h quit klv spread to
his liver
Irv Steinfxx.k died within six months,
but not before going through an exi ruci
tiling illness that made him de< tde to end
Ills own lift1 with a fatal dose of presc rip
lion drugs However, In* died in a hospi
tal the night before he had planned to go
home to commit sun ide
Still, Kdythn Steinfxx k says the expert
etu e convinced her to work for passage of
the measure to allow phvsu wins to pre
scribe medication for terminally ill peo
ple that could end the patient's life
If a person does not want to suffer
then he should lx* able to make that de< i
sion for himself.' she says
The Oregon Supreme Court hasn't
approved a ballot title for the plan, mean
mg that backers i an t lx*gin t nibs ting sig
natures vet to earn a spot on the Novem
her general ebs lion ballot
However, faith sides agree there s a lot
of interest in the issue and that the mea
sum's proponents won't have much prob
lem rounding up the 66,771 signatures
they need out e a ballot title is approved
It promises to he an emotional, high
visibility < nmpaign
Spearheading the opposition is the
Coalition for Compassionate Care, an
organization that includes the Catholic
(.bun h and ()regon High! to Life, among
others
l.vnda Harrington exes utive dins tor of
Kigiit to Life, savs while her group is
‘If a person does not
want to suffer, then he
should be able to make
that decision for
himself
Edythe Stembock,
w.t in*
known niainlv (or its battle against abor
tion. it is ready to fight a measure it
believes would l>e a step toward euthana
sia or inert v killing
( urrcnt law does not make it illegal for
individuals to < omrnit sun ide or attempt
to kill themselves, she noted
"But allowing one c lass of individuals,
that is. physic ians, to help kill a patient
crosses a significant moral line in our
soc lets , Harrington says "We think the
abortion issue c ould pale in comparison
with the euthanasia issue
(.eoff Sugerman, c ampaign director for
the sine ide measure, rejoc ts the idea that
the measure is a step toward euthanasia
The measure would allow doctors to
prescribe life ending medication only
when a patient requests it, and only in
i uses when n patient is diagnosed as has
ing less than si\ months to live. Sugar
man said
Whv should we fon e people to die in
an inhumane wav'" he sn\s Is it bettor
to have someone shoot themselves in the
head7"
Pat Mi Comiu k. i ampaign spokesman
for the opponents, sa\ s that while hdvthe
Stmnboi k's story is heart rending, then*
are mans equally compelling stories of
people who die with dignity" without
resorting to suicide
The idea that taking a fatal dose of
medication is somehow more dignified
than dying naturally is an interesting
assumption, hut I don't think it s true."
Mi < airmick say s
Steinboi k considers that an academic
argument and says she's going to do
every thing she can to see that the ballot
measure passes in November
"Until you see someone you love go
through this, vou will never understand
the emotion that goes with it." she says
I |\ist don't yvnnt anyone else to suffer
needlessly If I can help one person, one
family , this will he worth doing."
uNiPfflTfflTJ
You are invited to attend a public forum to discuss the
ACMC's report to the University Assembly
(March 8 minutes) and the proposed legislation which
will be introduced at the April assembly meeting.
When?
Where?
Thursday, March 31 from 12-2pm
Walnut Room, EMU (Across from the Post Office)
Those needing accommodations for a disability should call 346-.MM3
Please bring ideas, comments, and criticisms.
Sponsored hy the Assembly Committee on Multicultural Curriculum
Skinhead
kills girl
in home
(AP) A skinhead gang mem
her has been i harged with
manslaughter after his twin
brother's girlfriend was killed
with a shot to the i best from a
.15 7-caliber Magnum handgun.
Tiffany Elizabeth Webber. 20,
of Eugene, died at a hospital
after she was shot Saturday at
the home of Geoffrey Wavin'
(ierg and Daniel James (.erg
Geoffrey (.erg, 19. was i harged
with first-degree manslaughter
Ills twin, Daniel, fat es an
unrelated i (large of unlawful
possession of a short-barreled
22-i aliber rifle, investigators
said
The brothers are listed as skin
heads on a state police computer
network th.it trai ks known gang
members, l.nne ( ountv District
Attorney Doug Hart leroad said
Sunday
State police investigators
recovered at least a dozen
firearms ini hiding a semiau
tomatic rifle from the home
the brothers shared with their
mother and Webber, Han leroad
said
Polit e later discovered that
the handgun used in the shoot
ing was listed as stolen from
Springfield, he said.
Hail was set at Sat),000 for
Geoffrey (.erg and $ 10,000 for
Daniel (.erg
The men initially said the
shooting was an aci ident. state
pole e said
Harcderoud dei lined to
lies, ribe thi' events leading up to
the shooting, hut said evident e
indicates that the 157-caliber
Magnum had been unloaded,
then was subsequently loaded
by someone other than Geoffrey
(.erg
W hen Tiffany t ame into the
room, he pointed the firearm at
her and pulled the trigger," liar
cleroiid said.