The majority of hospice services are owned or affiliated with the Catholic Church and do not allow services nor referrals for end of life choices
Legal protection in for Medical Aid in Dying in Washington State (MAID; known as ‘Death With Dignity’) was certified in 2009 and access was extended in 2024 (see: 70.245 RCW “The Washington Death with Dignity Act”). Despite this, many hospice patients cannot access their legal right to Death with Dignity if they are served by a Catholic owned hospice service. These legal protections are superseded by the Ethical and Religious Directives, and these providers do not provide such services or referrals.
Like many regions in Washington, in Pierce County over 50% of hospice care is faith-based because the Department of Health controls which providers are allowed to open by awarding a Certificate of Need, often bypassing other hospice providers that do not have restrictions on care.
The mission of End of Life Washington is to facilitate the patient’s legal right to patient-directed dying. EOLW must ask a volunteer provider to offer the treatment if those health care provider is employed by a Catholic owned hospice. To avoid conflicts with their employee contract, hey must do this work without pay, unable to render the chosen care “on the clock.” Soon, this may be more difficult because ERD #8 and #9 holds accountable all employees to the ERDs. Denying this care removes the patient’s last health care decision.
One tragic example of this is a man who was dying from throat cancer. He was suffering terribly – his family was suffering terribly. He could not obtain his final wish to end his suffering and die a peaceful death. His oncologist was forbidden to render care because he was employed by a Catholic Hospice service. The patient, a veteran and John Wayne kind of guy, eventually went out to his backyard and put a bullet in his head.