California enacts right-to-die law

Bob Huff, R-San Dimas, said that by signing the bill Brown essentially ignored warnings from physicians that patients facing end-of-life decisions may be pressured into assisted suicide “instead of holding out for a cure”. The legislation, which will allow terminally ill people to choose to end their own lives, was partially inspired by the tragic story of Brittany Maynard.

Religious groups, including the Catholic Church, and advocates for people with disabilities opposed the measure, saying it legalizes premature suicide puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death.

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” he says in a written statement.

“Jerry Brown is more of a free agent than past California governors”, said Whalen, who described the governor’s bill signing strategy as quizzical. He doesn’t’ know what decision he might make, he said, but added that it “would be a comfort” to be able to consider the options. Patients must also reaffirm in writing that they intend to take the medication within 48 hours. In Oregon and Washington, the number of people who use assisted suicide is incredibly low, about 0.3% of all deaths, most likely because there is excellent access to hospice and palliative services in those states (as demonstrated in last week’s CAPC report card), as well as appropriate evaluation of eligible patients.

The campaign for the right-to-die legislature has been going on in California for years with strong opposition from religious and disability rights groups. That bill cleared the California Senate, but ultimately stalled in the state Assembly in July.

Brown is widely expected to sign bills his administration worked behind the scenes to craft, including measures to combat climate change and regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry.

Governor Brown said that after considering both sides of the impassioned debate, he said he could not deny anyone with a terminal condition the right to assisted suicide means.

The practice was permitted in New Mexico until August, when an appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that had established physician-assisted suicide as a fundamental right.

“This is the biggest victory for the death-with-dignity movement since Oregon passed the nation’s first law two decades ago”, said Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee, who coauthored the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, said in a statement.

The issues raised by the legislation are personal for Brown, who has survived multiple brushes with cancer and has lost family members. The governor’s signature brought tears of joy to O’Donnell, who has of lung cancer, even though she does not believe she will live long enough to take advantage of the law, which takes effect early next year.

Debbie Ziegler, the mother of aid-in-dying advocate Brittany Maynard, reacts to the California Legislature approving a bill that allows doctors in the state to prescribe lethal drugs to dying patients. It’s a wish that many simply can’t afford in time and money, Maynard’s husband told People Magazine previous year.