The California legislature passed a bill that will make it legal for doctors to prescribe suicide medicines for terminally ill patients.
The state Assembly approved the bill with a 42-33 votes, while senate passed it with 23-14.
The End of Life Option Act now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is a former Jesuit seminarian. He can approve or veto the bill within 30 days. If he fails to take any measure within the stipulated time frame, the bill will automatically become a law from January next year, according to media reports.
The Act will allow those patients to opt for suicide, who have been told by the doctor that they will not live more than six months. The patients will have to give one written and two oral requests, and provide a proof of mental competence.
A similar version of the Act failed in Assembly about two …show more content…
Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez wrote in an online op-ed that he was "deeply" disturbed by the developments, and expressed concern that it would "allow doctors to help their patients kill themselves."
"Lawmakers did not have any chance to consider the deeper issues raised by end-of-life care in the state - the cost of treatments, especially the cost of cancer medications; insurance practices that limit access to hospice care and physicians' options in providing adequate pain relief; the impact of this legislation on the poor and other underserved populations," he continued.
"And make no mistake, it will be these most vulnerable populations who are going to suffer from this legislation... Already, we know that poor families, African Americans, Latinos and immigrants do not have access to quality health care and they have limited treatment options when they face a serious or terminal illness."
"I'm not going to push the old or the weak out of this world, and I think that could be the unintended consequence of this legislation," said -cbs Senator Ted Gaines,
The state Assembly approved the bill with a 42-33 votes, while senate passed it with 23-14.
The End of Life Option Act now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is a former Jesuit seminarian. He can approve or veto the bill within 30 days. If he fails to take any measure within the stipulated time frame, the bill will automatically become a law from January next year, according to media reports.
The Act will allow those patients to opt for suicide, who have been told by the doctor that they will not live more than six months. The patients will have to give one written and two oral requests, and provide a proof of mental competence.
A similar version of the Act failed in Assembly about two …show more content…
Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez wrote in an online op-ed that he was "deeply" disturbed by the developments, and expressed concern that it would "allow doctors to help their patients kill themselves."
"Lawmakers did not have any chance to consider the deeper issues raised by end-of-life care in the state - the cost of treatments, especially the cost of cancer medications; insurance practices that limit access to hospice care and physicians' options in providing adequate pain relief; the impact of this legislation on the poor and other underserved populations," he continued.
"And make no mistake, it will be these most vulnerable populations who are going to suffer from this legislation... Already, we know that poor families, African Americans, Latinos and immigrants do not have access to quality health care and they have limited treatment options when they face a serious or terminal illness."
"I'm not going to push the old or the weak out of this world, and I think that could be the unintended consequence of this legislation," said -cbs Senator Ted Gaines,