Clergy to help people die
They will not administer drugs but will monitor as fatal medication works.
By Judy Lin - Bee Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A slim book chronicling a New York clergyman's pioneering and covert mission to help women get abortions has sat on Barbara Coombs Lee's bookshelf for 15 years, always an inspiring tale about the struggle for choice.

Now Coombs Lee, an activist in the end-of-life movement, is taking a page from the Rev. Howard Moody by launching a free program to help terminally ill people end their own lives.

Under the "End-of-Life Consultation" program, California residents will be able to call a toll-free number -- (800) 247-7421 -- where they will be screened before they can get advice on accessing hospice care and pain treatment. The goal of the program is to work within the law to help people die. Volunteers, including clergy, will neither provide nor administer fatal drugs, but they will monitor the patient as the self-administered medication works. the rest