"He'd had several strokes, wound up in a nursing home. He was cognizant of what was going on with him. He didn't have control of bowels. He couldn't walk. He was literally bedbound and very distressed about all that.

"I remember him begging me to bring him a gun so he could shoot himself. He didn't want to go on."

 

Lopez has seen death stripped of dignity. That has fueled her desire to help other Arizonans die with dignity.

For the fifth year in a row, the Tucson Democrat has introduced legislation to allow terminally ill patients with less than six months left to request and obtain a doctor's prescription for a lethal dose of an oral medication.

The bill is closely modeled on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, which voters passed in 1994 and re-affirmed over a legislative challenge in 1997. Through 2005, 246 Oregonians have taken their lives with prescribed medication.

 

Except for in 2003, Lopez has not been able to secure a committee hearing for her bill. So far this year, leadership hasn't assigned it to a committee.

 

Lopez is realistic about the bill's chances, even if assigned.

 

"The reality is that committee chairs have a lot of control over what goes on in their committees, which bills get heard, which bills get voted on and which bills get stuck in a drawer. This bill gets stuck in a drawer," she said.

Recent chairmen of the health committee "have a different philosophy about people directing their physical well-being and believe that their own moral values should impede upon the rest of us," she said. "I keep bringing it back because this is an issue that citizens care about, and the folks in charge at the Legislature are out of touch with what citizens want."

 

A Grand Canyon State Poll conducted in 2003 by Northern Arizona University found that 57 percent of Arizonans believe doctors should be allowed to assist patients living with incurable disease and in severe pain to end their lives. One-third of Arizonans disagreed. Ten percent weren't sure.

 

Nearly half of Arizonans surveyed said they would consider suicide under those circumstances.

 

On Wednesday, supporters of the end-of-life legislation will march in Phoenix. It's the second annual "Million Geezer March," and it's part of Lopez's strategy to keep the issue in the spotlight until society reaches a tipping point on it.

 

"Just as I believe that a woman should be able to control what happens with her own body, I think that all of us, as human beings, should be able to control what happens with our body if we are terminally ill," she said.

Lopez's father, Gerald Cosgray, eventually suffered a brain stem stroke that left him unable to swallow. After three years in a nursing home, he died in 1993 of lack of hydration and nutrition at age 73.

 

"When I saw what happened to him at the very end, I thought, 'This is just not right. People shouldn't have to go through this,' " she said.

 

The legislation is actively opposed by the Arizona Medical Association.

 

"Our leadership believes physicians are in the business of prolonging life, not ending life," said Andrea Smiley, spokeswoman for the association. "And our experience in research and studies have shown that oftentimes when patients are living with a life-threatening illness, that sometimes depression is involved. And if you can treat that, you can alleviate any desire to end life."

 

The bill would require the patient to undergo a psychiatric consultation to rule out depression or a psychological disorder before the attending physician could issue a prescription.

 

If I were polled on this issue, I'd fall into the unsure category. It goes against the grain of my Catholic upbringing (some of it stuck, darn it), but I'm also uncomfortable imposing my religion-based values on others. And despite my belief that it would be wrong to take my own life, I can imagine dire circumstances under which I'd rather not continue living.

 

Of one thing I'm sure. I'm quick to point out silly legislation, as regular readers know. This bill is a serious and profound piece of legislation deserving of a hearing.

 

Arizonans of all beliefs should have their say.

 

Good lawmakers vote their consciences on these types of bills, but to refuse to even consider this one year after year is unconscionable.