THE right to die in California on Tuesday, Sept. 1, moved one step forward when a state Assembly committee advanced a bill that would allow terminally-ill patients to take medication that would end their life.
In a 10-3 vote, the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee propelled ABX2-15 to another committee, the Associated Press reported.
“I think our loved ones suffer when they don’t need to,” Assemblyman Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley), a member of the committee, said before the vote, according to Los Angeles Times.
Before the committee made its decision on Tuesday, advocates and opponents weighed in on the contentious measure. Among those who spoke in favor of the bill was 47-year-old Christy O’Donnell, who has terminal lung cancer that has spread to her brain liver, spine and rib, the Associated Press reported.
“I want the choice to be in my own bed with my daughter holding my hand while I pass peacefully. I do not want her sitting vigil by my bed for days or weeks,” she said.
Dan Diaz, whose terminally-ill wife Brittany Maynard relocated to Oregon from California last year to end her life, also provided testimony supporting the legislation.
“My wife passed away gently,” Diaz said, according to the Times. “There is no glory in suffering a prolonged and agonizing death if that’s not what an individual wants.”
Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), who co-authored ABX2-15, cited how Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, a similar bill that became law 17 years ago, has not encountered any problems. She added that more than 870 Oregonians have taken part in obtaining the lethal drugs, but that only slightly more than half actually ended their lives.
“There has never been a lawsuit. It has never been abused. It is not something that has been overly utilized,” Eggman said, according to the Times.
Among those in opposition to the legislation are the Catholic Church, disabled rights activists and associations that represent oncologists.
Marilyn Golden, a senior policy analyst with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, said that end-of-life treatment options are limited for a wealth of individuals, particularly those who are poor and disabled.
“This will push people into cheaper, lethal options,” Golden told the Associated Press. “There is no assurance that everyone will be able to choose treatment over assisted suicide.”
Additional opposition before the Assembly’s vote on Tuesday came from Laura Petrillo, a hospice medicine physician at UC San Francisco, the Times reported. Petrillo told the committee that the criteria for determining whether an individual can give informed consent falls short.
“This assessment can be very difficult in patients with dementia or cognitive impairment, and that murkiness leaves people with cognitive impairment open to risk of coercion from their families, care providers or even the medical system,” Petrillo said, according to the Times.
Should the right-to-die measure make it to the desk of California Gov. Jerry Brown, it is uncertain whether or not he would sign it.
