California governor signs hard-won right-to-die legislation

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death”, the governor wrote in a signing statement that accompanied his signature on the legislation.

In 2013, Brown said “these damn bills” were keeping him from more important matters.

ABx2 15 is not an ordinary bill because it deals with life and death.

The new law requires this type of pedicab to have basic safety equipment including seat belts, seat backs, brakes, reflectors, headlights, and grab rails, and to be operated by a 21-year-old adult with a valid California driver’s license.

Brown said he carefully considered all of those viewpoints, including the “thoughtful opposition materials presented by a number of doctors, religious leaders and those who champion disability rights”.

But supporters said the measure, introduced after 29-year-old cancer patient Brittany Maynard made headlines by moving from California to Oregon to take her own life previous year, would allow people who are terminally ill to die with dignity and greater comfort.

The bill he received includes requirements that patients be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patients submit several written requests, and that there be two witnesses, one of whom is not a family member.

California becomes the fifth state to allow so-called assisted suicide, following Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont.

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, a former hospice worker, was a coauthor of the Assembly legislation.

Jerry Brown speaks during a bill signing event at the Leland Stanford Mansion on May 19, 2015 in Sacramento, Calif. In 1992, voters rejected a proposal that would have granted physicians the right to give a lethal injection to a patient.

The law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns its special session on health care, which may not be until next year.

Contact Lisa M. Krieger at 650-492-4098.