Denver Catholic

11 DENVER CATHOLIC | JANUARY 23-FEBRUARY 12, 2016 Check Us Out ... Under One Roof! Meet Kevin Kijewski, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver!! Denver, South/Southeast Suburbs, and Aurora K through 8th Grade Schools Par cipa ng: All Souls, Ave Maria, Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King, Good Shepherd, Most Precious Blood School, Our Lady of Loreto, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Therese, St. Thomas More, and St. Vincent de Paul High Schools Par cipa ng: Bishop Machebeuf, Mullen, Regis, and St. Mary's Academy Catholic Schools FAIR Sunday, January 31, 2016 10:00AM - Noon At Most Precious Blood School – in the Gym 3959 E. Iliff Ave., Denver 80210 303-757-1279 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic School Forming authentic disciples of Christ, in a small and nurturing Catholic environment Open House: January 31, 2016 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Breakfast/School Tours/Registration Information 2341 E. 78th Ave., Denver, 80229 303.288.2159 www.assumptiondenver.org "We are the heart and hands of Jesus" want to Time people in because of percent), enjoy- losing percent physical choosing of losing That begs become a are most rather kill losing their burden? is the people now, we pur- actually "do no under- it supposed the gate- suicide interview by Califor- the act of drugs law states aid-in-dy- MYTH #4: Colorado will adopt all of Oregon's provisions to protect patients from abuse of physician-assisted suicide. FACT: Colorado's new bill removes all required documentation, even from the patient's medical record. John Volk is a family physician in Greeley and a deacon at St. John the Baptist in John- stown and St. Nicholas in Platteville. He said this action is unprecedented. "Proponents point to Oregon's law as the 'gold standard' for protecting patients from abuse, largely based on their claim that 'there are no reports of abuse in Oregon,'" Volk said. Oregon, Washington and California's laws all require physicians to fi ll out reports and documents. These include oral and written requests from the patient, verifi cation of competence and report of counseling out- come. Senate Bill 25 and House Bill 1054 remove all of these requirements. "This is unprecedented in existing law and proposed legislation, removing even the minimal reporting under Ore- gon's law. This increases the likelihood of abuse, removes statutory incentive for doctors to follow the law and makes it nearly impossible for the state to prove violation of the law. This change increases protection of doctors and decreases pro- tection for patients," Volk said.® MYTH #5: The patient will administer the drug to himself or herself. FACT: The 2016 bill eliminated the phrase "by ingestion" from the section that explained how the pills are to be administered (p. 6). This might sound like a minor linguistic point, but the implications are huge.® "'By ingestion' was a requirement to ensure that the patient was able to commit the act themselves without the aid of a third party," Volk said. The change makes it possible for a third party to pre- pare and administer the lethal drugs by hand feeding or even by insertion into a feeding tube of an incapacitated patient.® In addition, the new bill establishes total immunity for anyone involved. According to Volk, this gives physicians and others the ability to ignore laws and act without accountability. "No other medical situation grants such blanket immunity," Volk said. "This immu- nity is extended to any person—including anyone who is present at the time." Read Jenny Kraska's column on page 22 for information on fi ghting the bill. MYTHS VS. FACTS For additional myths and facts, go to ArchDen.org/life. St. Bernadette Catholic School 1100 Upham Street (10th and Wadsworth) Lakewood, Colorado 80214 www.stbcs.net Enrolling Preschool through 8th Grades beginning February 15th because of

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