Primary ends before
Northwest can speak
■ OUR OPINION: Election
system should be
changed to give all Ameri
cans a voice
Well, it appears that the
Republican nomination is
at I-but-decided. After a slow
start in Iowa and New
Hampshire. Bob Dole land
ed a big win in New York
Thursday after winning
eight states the previous
Tuesday. Once again, by the
time primary elections
arrive on the West Coast, the
race has ended.
Oregon had decided to
move its eh*iion* up this
year to "have more of a
voice" in the direction of
the campaigns But to no
avail.
As long as (he Midwest
ern and Northeastern states
get first crack at the presi
dential hojM-ful* the neil of
the country wields little
Ciwer in deciding who will
ad this country. The order
of the primary elec tions, as
It stands, keeps almost half
of the stales effectively out
of the proc ess
Hut we can (hange the
system
For decades. Iowa and
New Hampshire have been
allowed to set the tune of
the primaries, These states
receive massive national
attention and hundreds of
thousands of dollars from
news crews that flock to
their door, eat in their
restaurants and stay in (heir
hotels
Aside front the obvious
fact that neither of these
stales represents the c ountry
(Pat Robertson won the Iowa
primary in 1!W2), it is not
their right to be first.
Each state determines
when it will have its prima
ry. If Oregon decided to
have it* election in Febru
ary. il has every right to do
that However, this would
only lead to us being more
ignored than we an? Out of
resped for the tradition (and
the relative affordability) of
starling the rat e in Iowa,
most politicians would turn
their attention there instead
In addition, if this state
decided to have its primary
on the same day as a dele
gate-rich state such as New
York, we would lake a back
seat Campaigning is expen
sive. and no savvy politician
would waste time turning to
Oregon when he can spend
hi* money on 93 delegates
in the Northeast
The solution, then, is to
have regional primaries thst
rotate. States in each region
would have their elections
on the same day or within
the same week, and the
order in which those elec
tions take place would
rotate with <’«» h election
Thus, in each elt* tlon a
different region would reap
the benefit* now enjoyed
only by the Northeast. The
rest of the country would
get the opportunity to see
the candidates in person
and hear their take on
regional issues
This would also be more
tost-effective for politicians.
They could blanket a region
instead of state hopping
from one side of the country
to the other.
All it takes is for regional
states to get together and set
an eledion date States that
refuse to participate will be
ignored, because politicians
will target the blocks rather
than the individual states
The blocks i an then estab
lish a rotation pattern that
gives everyone an opportu
nity to (nit the ribbon on
America's future.
008
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Dignified death act allows peaceful exit
When Measure 16 barely squeaked by
with 51 percent of the vote. I fell
vindicated My vote really did
count. If }ust 1 percent (ewer people
bed voted for the measure, it may have never
been enacted
That's where it gets sticky Because the Death
With Dignity Ait never sms enacted On Dec. 7,
ihe vary day before the law was to take effect.
US District fudge Michael Hogan put the law on
hold to give himself time to conduct full hoar
mg* to determine its constitutionality, later in
the year, he found it unconstitutional, and it
was thrown out.
Death with Dignity groups vowed to take it to
highest courts And that is where it has stagnat
ed for the peat year Until last Wednesday that
‘ipectad to b.
Roe v» Waite of assisted suicide, the 9th US Or
itiit Ikniri of Appeals in San Franc u< o said thai
mentally competent, terminally ill adults have
the fundamental right, not requiring special leg
it Union, to end Iheir lives with the help of a
physician ("The Oregonian. March 7)
Some opponents would argue that it gems
against the commandment. Thmi shah not
kill.* Before I would even enter the church vs
Stale delwte I would point out that in the Bible
several people are reported to have ended their
own lives (1 Samuel 3); | Samuel 17; t Kings
16. Matthew 27) with no condemnation from
Clod at thetr peers
Other* would say that suicide is unconstitu
tional The 14th Amendment guarantees that
there shall be equal protection and that no state
shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property without due process " But by allowing
citirons to choose when and where they die. the
government is actually giving them the freedom
to choose their own fate
The main medical argument against the right
to die is that without depression, suicide ia not
considered, and without pain, people are will
ing to go on living The solution to pain and
depression’ Drugs, of course. But who is to say
that living in a drugged stupor, unable to truly
live, is better than death?
Then you get into the really heart jerking Slo
nes The. “Five year* ago I had three months to
live and look at me now,” storie*. 1 don’t deny
that those people are truly fortunate Or that it
would have been too bad if they had killed
themselves when they were really not going to
die.
But I do argue that they are not the norm and,
so we cannot base the rules for all on their
miraculous recoveries 1 instead think about the
pecmie whom we cannot hear The one* who
suffered through months of physical and mental
anguish The ones who are not here to tell the
L»i.< of the hell Ihe\ went through on the path to
1 death How it ate away at than to cause their
loved one* such pain. How they hated losing
their bodily functions and the pain and embar
r' ' I
rassmant they went through
The one* who died in needles*
}M»in and frustration
This is the most poignant
argument for me What if I had
si* months left to live? What if
I knew 1 would gradually
decline — I would not recog
nize people, I would not be
able to do the activities I love. I
would have to see the [Min in
my loved one# eye# as they see
wnai i was going rnrougfi
It seems cruel and barbaric to me. I would
want to be able to end it.
Then I think of the way it could be
A responsible adult Is diagnosed with sis
months left to live They are told their last days
will be Riled with body-racking pain. After sen
ously thinking it over, the person decide* they
want to take their own life. Instead of having to
be secretive in fear of implicating their loved
ones in a crime, they are able to discuss their
reasoning with them They talk to their doctor,
get a second opinion and if all goes well, after
an additional waiting period, they are given a
prescription.
Then, after saying good-bye to the people and
plate* they have loved best. they are able to die
with dignity. Not alone, but surrounded by their
friend* and family. Not in pain, but with the
knowledge they lived and died a good life And
peace is gained
It already happens every day According to a
survey 21 percent of doctor* who treat the dying
have been asked for such a prescription What is
more amazing is that they actually do it One
hundred and eighty-seven Oregon doctor* have
reported writing such a prescription (The Ore
gonian, March 8) Of those people. 124 actually
ended their own lives This was not a spur of the
moment decision, lust because you get a pre
scription doe* not mean that you need to take it
But the right needs to esist ('diaries Hinkle,
attorney for Dragon Right to Die points out.
"(Measure lti| i* entirely voluntary No one i*
required to participate No doctor, no hospital,
no nursing home. No person."
You can hack out anytime
A* a progressive nation, we should give peo
ple the right to die with dignity We cannot call
ourselves free in life unless we have choices In
this case the choice is clear — it is the ability to
choose to die.
Kay Krautuheid, a taphamtm majoring in biolo
gy, is o columnist fat the Emerald E-moil
kaykOgladstom■ uoregon mlu