Bill to Allow Physician-assisted Suicide Advances in CA Legislature
- Updated Sep 02, 2015
A bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in California has passed a crucial committee in the state’s legislature, according to The Huffington Post.
The bill gained momentum after the physician-assisted suicide of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old brain cancer patient who moved to Oregon to take advantage of that state’s legalized physician-assisted suicide.
Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in only four states--Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont. California is now attempting to become the fifth state to legalize it.
The bill was initially put on hold in July, but was brought back to the table in August as part of a special session on healthcare, called together by Governor John Brown.
“The more time we've had to work on it, the more support we have," said Senator Bill Monning, a Democrat from Carmel who is a co-author of the bill.
Although many conservatives are opposed to the bill because they say physician-assisted suicide would devalue human life and be a threat to those who are disabled, conservative columnist George Will recently wrote a post in support of it.
Many doctors also oppose the bill, believing that their job is to sustain life, not help to end it.
Publication date: September 2, 2015
