Though the physician-assisted suicide bill AB 654, the California Compassionate Choice Act, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee by a one-vote margin April 12, it could face a growing momentum of opposition sparked by two young Democratic Assemblywomen.

Assemblywoman Cindy Montaņez (D-San Fernando), 31, broke rank with five other Democrats when she sided with the committee's three Republicans in voting against the bill. That same day, Nicole Parra, (D-Hanford), 35, issued a statement saying, "Doctor assisted suicide is immoral and wrong." Both Montaņez and Parra are Catholic.

"I believe that allowing the state to sanction a death in this fashion erodes the sanctity of life," said Montaņez in an April 12 statement. "While I understand and sympathize with all the reasons supporters of AB 654 have given me, they still do not outweigh my belief that life is too precious and that we, as a governmental entity, should not be a party to assisted suicide."

In a telephone interview April 19, Montaņez told The Tidings she had received at least 2,000 letters against the bill compared to several hundred letters in its support. "This issue cut across different ideologies and religious faiths," said Montaņez, noting that the majority of religious leaders she consulted, including San Fernando Region Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, were against the bill.

While Montaņez described AB 654 co-author Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) as a close friend who has compassion for others, she said her "no" vote was ultimately based on her belief that life is too precious to end prematurely. Reaction from her San Fernando Valley constituents has been "extremely positive," said Montaņez, adding that several legislative colleagues have come to talk with her about their concerns with physician-assisted suicide.

"This is one of those bills that most calls to one's moral beliefs," said Montaņez. "Hopefully, it will be an issue of everyone voting their conscience."

Assemblywoman Parra has also received many calls from constituents backing her opposition to physician-assisted suicide and feels there may be a momentum toward a "lessening of support" for the bill among her fellow legislators. She said an uncle's courageous five-year struggle with Lou Gehrig's disease has been a huge influence in her life.

"My uncle inspired us. He always had hope. I would hate for him to think he was a burden to our family," said Parra.

"It's a good start that two Democratic women have gone on record against AB 654," said Carol Hogan, lobbyist with the California Catholic Conference of bishops. Now headed for the Appropriations Committee, the bill could end up in the suspense file --- a boneyard for many bills --- if backers perceive a lack of "votes on the floor." The bill might be stymied if 10-12 more assemblymembers would come out against it, said Hogan.

Even if it passes the Assembly --- a 50-50 proposition according to Hogan --- it still has to get through the Senate, which is traditionally more deliberative on these issues. And, if it doesn't get through the legislature, predicted Hogan, proponents will go through the initiative process, as they did in 1992 when the "Death With Dignity Act" initiative (Proposition 161) was rejected by California voters.

"The problem with this bill is that you can't legislate against coercion which can be very subtle," said Hogan. Terminally ill people might be influenced to relieve their exhausted caregivers by choosing physician-assisted suicide. And, Hogan noted, in a state like California with over six million medically uninsured people, the temptation to "aid" an indigent individual to choose suicide might be considered economically advisable to caregivers, be they family members or medical personnel.

Currently, Oregon is the only state with physician-assisted suicide, which became legal in 1997. Terminally ill Oregon residents desiring physician-assisted suicide must meet certain criteria --- including having a diagnosis of a six-month life expectancy --- and they must find a doctor willing to participate.

Oregon doctors are required to rule out the possibility of a psychiatric or psychological disorder, such as depression, and also offer alternatives such as comfort care, hospice care and pain control. After obtaining the patient's written consent signed by two witnesses and following a waiting period, a doctor may fulfill the patient's request for physician-assisted suicide by writing a prescription for a lethal oral dosage of a controlled drug substance, usually a barbiturate. The law does not require a physician's presence when lethal medication is taken by a patient. As of March 10, 208 individuals have reportedly participated in physician-assisted suicide.

Robert Castagna, Oregon Catholic Conference executive director and general counsel, questions the relatively low number of a couple hundred physician-assisted suicides since 1997 because the law does not require the reporting of unsuccessful attempts. On March 4, The Oregonian newspaper reported a man's failed attempt at physician-assisted suicide. Demanding to know, "Why am I not dead?" after waking up from a coma three days later, the individual lived for two more weeks.

"That failed physician-assisted suicide validated assertions that we made back in 1997 that this approach is not a fail-safe mechanism," said Castagna, citing a reported 25 percent failure rate in The Netherlands where physician-assisted suicide has been openly practiced since the early '90s. Castagna said a "credibility cloud" hangs over official Oregon reports on physician-assisted suicide since they don't reflect "difficult cases" where patients didn't experience the peaceful death they had anticipated. "It amounts to a whitewashing of the practice," said Castagna.

Most advocates for the disabled are opposed, as are some feminists such as Susan Wolf who declared: "Dimensions of health status that may affect a patient's value considering physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia differentially plague women."

"Women should be concerned because they live longer than men," commented Castagna. "The true engines driving physician-assisted suicide are demographics and economics." Castagna noted that consumer advocate Ralph Nader came out against it because he was concerned that HMOs would look at physician-assisted suicide as a medical expenditure control device.

Castagna credits the group, "Physicians for Compassionate Care Educational Foundation," for national lobbying efforts against physician-assisted suicide. It started with the encouragement of former Portland Archbishops William Levada and (now Cardinal) Francis George who challenged Catholic members of Oregon's Medical Association, which has maintained a neutral position on the physician-assisted suicide issue. "Don't repeat Oregon's experiment [with physician-assisted suicide]. It's dangerous," declared Castagna.

Californians Against Assisted Suicide, a grassroots coalition that includes the CCC and the Alliance for Catholic Healthcare, is actively advocating against AB 654. Other organizations aligned with CAAS include the California Medical Association, California Disability Alliance, Western Service Workers, Education and Defense Fund, Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals, and League of United Latin American Citizens. AB 654 was one of the major bills lobbied April 26 at the CCC's annual Catholic Lobby Day in Sacramento. Supporters of the bill include Compassion and Choices, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California chapter of the National Organization for Women, and the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations.

On the federal level, opponents of physician-assisted suicide hope that a case scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court later this year will overturn legalized physician-assisted suicide in Oregon based on the argument that it represents a violation of the federally controlled substances act.