A 29 year old woman killed herself the other day in Oregon—a State that allows assisted suicide. She was dying of brain cancer and did not want to go to the end, she wanted to decide when to end it. This has opened up the discussion in other States for the same opportunity to die when you want to, not naturally or because of disease. California has previously voted against this. Now it appears supporters of assisted suicide are claiming the movement is “alive” and well (pun intended), looking towards 2016 or 2018 to be on the California ballot again.
They might even try to get it through the Legislature, instead of going for a vote of the people.
“In the final days of her life, Maynard worked with Compassion & Choices. The group supports the right of terminally ill patients to end their lives. California Political Director Charmaine Manansala says the group will be working to get a program similar to Oregon’s approved in California.
“Our phones are ringing off the hook here. We have volunteers and donors coming out of the woodwork,” she says. “And as the political director I’ve had many elected officials, whether it be local or state level, who have been contacting me.”
Assisted Suicide Debate Heating Up In California
Katie Orr, Capitol Radio, 11/4/14
Brittany Maynard moved from San Francisco to Oregon earlier this year after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She wanted to use Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” law, which allows doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients. Now her death is renewing the debate about physician-assisted suicide in California.
In the final days of her life, Maynard worked with Compassion & Choices. The group supports the right of terminally ill patients to end their lives. California Political Director Charmaine Manansala says the group will be working to get a program similar to Oregon’s approved in California.
“Our phones are ringing off the hook here. We have volunteers and donors coming out of the woodwork,” she says. “And as the political director I’ve had many elected officials, whether it be local or state level, who have been contacting me.”
Manansala says the group hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue policy changes through the legislature or through voters.
“It boils down to the self-determination of people‘s rights to choose how they die,” she says. “People have a choice regarding how they live they should also have a choice regarding how they end their lives.”
But Tim Rosales with Californians Against Assisted Suicide says the impact of the policy goes beyond the individual.
“You start to talk about some of the impacts on the uninsured, people who don’t have access to healthcare, people who are living with disabilities or serious illness,” he says. “Those are issues that concern them.”
Rosales says California has rejected similar measures several times and that physician-assisted suicide policies pose a threat to the disabled community.
Four states currently allow physician-assisted suicide.
About Stephen Frank
Speak Your Mind