BACKING SOUGHT FOR RIGHT-TO-DIE BILL.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

Testing treacherous political waters, a San Fernando Valley lawmaker said Friday that he will decide in the next two weeks whether to introduce a bill to allow physician-assisted suicide in California.

Robert Hertzberg, D-Sherman Oaks, is asking fellow legislators to work with him on a right-to-die measure. He circulated a letter Nov. 4 to every member of the state Assembly and Senate seeking co-authors for a right-to-die measure.

Late Friday, Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Oakland, said she would join the effort.

Hertzberg is moving ahead with caution.

``I'm considering it. I'm not sure yet,'' Hertzberg said.

In his letter, Hertzberg cited court rulings that upheld an Oregon statute allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to their terminally ill patients.

``I strongly believe we must now confront this very important issue,'' Hertzberg wrote in the letter. ``Individuals who are at the end of their life deserve to be able to choose to die in a humane manner and with dignity.''

He said his proposal would be similar to the Oregon law, but also would require that a psychologist or psychiatrist determine that patients are making informed decisions about ending their lives.

Hertzberg's move comes after a spring U.S. Supreme Court ruling left it largely up to states whether to ban or allow the practice. The ruling let stand laws in New York and Washington outlawing physician-assisted suicides, but also left the Oregon statute in place.

In response, other state legislators have begun cautiously to explore the issue. An Assembly Select Committee on Palliative Care will hold the second of two hearings on the issue Monday in Los Angeles.

But no lawmaker has so far put forward a specific proposal, at least in part because of the controversial nature of the issue. A number of groups influential in the Capitol, including organizations for doctors and nurses, oppose involving caregivers in ending patients' lives. Some others object on religious grounds.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, said deaths like those allowed under the Oregon law aren't the tranquil endings right-to-die advocates claim.

``The reality is that what takes place is a very violent, painful, excruciating death process,'' Runner said.

He said he believes that lawmakers should look to alternatives, including giving doctors greater latitude in prescribing drugs to ease the pain of dying patients.

``We need to focus on what the problem is. What do we do with people who are in pain? That needs to be the question,'' Runner said. ``Compassion isn't bumping off the patient. Compassion is helping them with their pain.''

Runner said he believes that society needs to keep in place its taboo against suicide to prevent people who are ill from feeling pressured to end their lives early.

``We need it as a safeguard for the vulnerable,'' he said.

California voters weighed in on the issue five years ago. They rejected a right-to-die initiative in November 1992. But public opinion polls consistently have shown support for the idea. In addition, jurors have repeatedly refused to convict Dr. Jack Kevorkian of criminal charges for helping terminally ill patients kill themselves.

Hertzberg acknowledged that he was treading on difficult political turf. But he said he believes that the law hasn't kept pace with medical advances, which sometimes force patients to linger indefinitely against their will.

``We value life so much we don't let a person who owns their life make a decision about their own life,'' said Hertzberg.

``We keep people alive and in pain for long periods of time and don't let them make the decision.''

ASSISTED-SUICIDE HEARING

WHAT: Members of the California Assembly Select Committee on Palliative Care will take testimony on the question of doctor-assisted suicide and other pain-management issues.

WHEN: Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE:Auditorium of the Caltrans building, 120 S. State St., downtown Los Angeles.

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: ASSISTED-SUICIDE HEARING (see text)