In the second half of February 2020:
- Maryland lawmakers held a hearing on the End-of-Life Option Act.
- Advocates across the U.S. voiced their support for death with dignity.
Maryland
On February 28, the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee held an emotional hearing on Senate Bill 701, the End-of-Life Option Act. Here’s how media covered the newsworthy event:
- “Assisted-Suicide Bill Gets Hearing in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee,” CBS Baltimore, 2/28/2020
- “Lawmakers Proposing Assisted-Suicide Bill,” WMAR Baltimore, 2/28/2020
- “Sen. Patterson: I’ve Made Up My Mind on ‘End-of-Life Option Act,” Maryland Matters, 2/28/2020
Death with Dignity Executive Director Peg Sandeen testified in support of the bill. Read a transcript of her testimony here.
In the weeks leading up to the hearing, multiple op-eds from Marylanders across the state made the case for passage of the bill, modeled on Oregon’s first-in-the-nation assisted dying law.
- “Support for End of Life Option Act,” Frederick News-Post, 2/17/2020
- “Real freedom includes end-of-life decision making, Baltimore Sun, 2/17/2020
- “Have faith in Maryland’s End-of-Life Option Act,” Washington Post, 2/25/2020 – In which the Reverend Joseph Kitchen of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden notes that, “contrary to popular belief, most people of faith don’t oppose medical aid in dying. In fact, a majority of Catholics (65 percent), Protestants (62 percent), Jews (67 percent) and Muslims (52 percent) in Maryland support it, according to 2019 Public Policy Polling showing 66 percent of Marylanders overall support this option. I recently joined faith leaders from Judaism, the Presbyterian Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church and the United Church of Christ at a news conference to express our support for this legislation.”
Across the U.S.
California:
- “First Conference on Clinician Training for Medical Aid in Dying,” Medscape, 2/24/2020
- “Should Medical Aid in Dying Be Part of Hospice Care?,” Medscape, 2/26/2020
Connecticut: “My sister-in-law died of assisted suicide: Connecticut braces for aid-in-dying bill,” Law.com/Connecticut Law Tribune, 2/19/2020
Florida: “She became the face of the right-to-die movement: Now her husband carries on her legacy,” Florida Today, 2/18/2020
Massachusetts:
- “Column: ‘Death with Dignity’ Restores Personal Liberty,” Salem News, 2/20/2020
- “Letter: Vote to allow terminally ill to act on belief in eternal life,” Worcester Telegram, 2/23/2020
New Hampshire: “Letter: Permit ‘Death with Dignity’ Bill,” Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, 2/26/2020
New Jersey: “She was the first to publicly ask to die under N.J. law. Then she changed her mind,” NJ.com, 2/27/202
New York: “Growing support across New York State for Medical Aid in Dying Act,” Fingerlakes1.com, 2/21/2020
Vermont: “Woodstock man’s obituary reflects on choices about life and death,” Valley News, 2/25/2020
NOTE: Death with Dignity does not support the use of inaccurate terminology like “assisted suicide” to describe death with dignity. Read more in our “Terminology of Assisted Dying” resource.
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