Although 68 percent of Coloradans believe that a competent, terminally ill adult should have a say in how he will die, our lawmakers aren’t there yet. They continue to focus on what might happen, discounting what has happened where aid in dying is authorized – in states like Oregon, where its Death with Dignity law has been in effect for more than 17 years without a single documented case of abuse. How many more Coloradans must suffer before our lawmakers will finally allow the dying to make their own choices about what is arguably the most personal and intimate decision any of us can make.

Roland Halpern, Compassion & Choices

Denver