Week 28/2015 in the Death with Dignity Movement

Last week, from July 6 to July 12, 2015:

• The hearing in the California State Assembly Committee on Health was postponed for a second time as the sponsors of SB 128, End of Life Option Act, determined the bill had insufficient votes to pass. Senators Wolk and Monning intend to bring the bill back next year, in the latter half of the 2015-2016 legislative session.
• The D.C. Council’s Committee on Health and Human Services held a 10-hour hearing on Councilmember Mary Cheh’s Death with Dignity Act of 2015. The next steps will not be decided until after the Council’s summer recess.
• A Tennessee court heard John Jay Hooker’s case, in which he argues for the state to provide him with the right to die.

California

• “Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill Faces Next Hearing,” Capital Public Radio, 7/6/2015
• “The End for ‘Brittany’s Bill’? Legislators Balk at Doctor-Assisted Suicide for the Terminally Ill,” California Magazine, 7/6/2015
• “SB 128: Aid in dying bill faces resistance from Southern California Democrats,” San Jose Mercury News, 7/6/2015
• “California’s controversial assisted-death bill divides doctors,” The Sacramento Bee, 7/6/2015
• “California assisted death bill appears finished for the year,” The Sacramento Bee, 7/7/2015
• “‘No One Should Have The Right To Prolong My Death’,” NPR Shots, 7/7/2015
• “SB 128, California’s right-to-die bill, denied,” Inside Bay Area News, 7/7/2015
• “KHN Morning Briefing: Calif. Supporters Withdraw Aid-In-Dying Bill After Momentum Stalls In Assembly,” Kaiser Health News, 7/7/2015
• “Religious and Regulatory Concerns Block Vote on California Right-to-Die Law,” VICE News, 7/7/2015
• “Aid-in-dying bill withdrawn due to lack of support,” SF Gate, 7/7/2015
• “California lawmakers end push for right-to-die legislation this year amid religious opposition,” US News and World Report via Associated Press, 7/7/2015
• “California aid-in-dying bill shelved for the year,” Los Angeles Times, 7/7/2015
• “Catholic Church Helps Defeat ‘Death With Dignity’ Proposal In Calif. Senate,” CBS, 7/8/2015
• “Catholic Church, often sidelined in liberal California, sees rare win on right-to-die bill,” Star Tribune, 7/8/2015
• “Assisted Suicide Bill In California Hits Major Roadblock,” NPR, 7/8/2015
• “Calif. right-to-die bill stalls on religious opposition and coercion fears,” Washington Post, 7/8/2015
• “Opinion: Right-to-die bill dies in California, and takes hopes with it ,” Los Angeles Times, 7/9/2015
• “Cancer-Stricken Woman Fights for Right-to-Die Laws,” HealthLine, 7/10/2015

District of Columbia

• “D.C. could be the next place to legalize assisted death for the terminally ill,” Washington Post, 7/10/2015
• “Right-To-Die Bill Brings National Debate To D.C. Council ,” WAMU News, 7/10/2015
• “D.C.’s Proposed Death With Dignity Law Provokes Strong Reactions ,” WAMU News, 7/10/2015
• “D.C. Council Holding Hearing on ‘Death With Dignity’ Bill,” NBC Washington, 7/10/2015
• “Virginians watching DC’s Dying with Dignity Act hearing,” NBC, 7/10/2015
• “‘Death with Dignity’ hearing held Friday in D.C.,” WTOP, 7/10/2015
• “The Politics Hour with D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson,” Kojo Nnamdi Show, 7/10/2015

New York

• “Editorial: Suffering’s silent treatment” Times Union, 7/4/2015
• “Ease pain of terminally ill; let them die with dignity,” Times Union, 7/6/2015

Tennessee

• “U.S. Former Candidate Asks Tennessee to Allow Assisted Suicide,” Capital New York, 6/30/2015
• “Judge weighs whether to allow John Jay Hooker aid in dying,” Tennesseean, 7/10/2015

Other Stories

• “A Stanford University study shows almost 90 percent of doctors would forgo resuscitation and aggressive treatment if facing a terminal illness.” “Knowing How Doctors Die Can Change End-Of-Life Discussions,” NPR, 7/6/2015

Image by Flood G.