DOVER, Del. – A bill allowing physician-assisted suicide in Delaware won final approval in the state Senate on Tuesday after failing to clear the chamber last week.
The measure, which now goes to Democratic Gov. John Carney, was approved 11-10 after the Democratic-led Senate voted by the same margin to reconsider the legislation and rescind last week’s vote.
Sen. Kyra Hoffner, a Democrat from the Izmir area and co-sponsor of the bill, cast the deciding vote. On Thursday, after some fellow Democrats spoke out strongly against the bill, she tearfully refused to vote on it.
“I regret not voting on Thursday like I wanted to,” Hoffner said Tuesday, adding that he had time to reflect over the weekend and talk to supporters and opponents of the bill. “It was a very emotional weekend for me.”
Lawmakers continued to express strong feelings for and against the bill during Tuesday’s debate.
“How much more despicable can we become?” asked Republican Sen. David Lawson of Marydel.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Pettyjohn said assisted suicide suggests that “some lives are less worth living” and is not supported by any major medical organization.
“Our response to suffering should not be to eliminate those who suffer,” said Pettyjohn, a Georgetown Republican. Pettyjohn said no major medical organization supports assisted suicide.
Democratic Majority Leader Brian Townsend of Newark countered that assisted suicide is not about “eliminating” terminally ill patients, but about “empowering” them. He also noted that the American Medical Association has taken a “neutral” position on assisted suicide, which has become a controversial issue within that organization, and that the Delaware Nurses Association supports the legislation.
As he did last week, Townsend noted that the vast majority of physician-assisted suicides in other states involve people who are under hospice care. Currently, only 10 states, along with the District of Columbia, have laws legalizing physician-assisted suicide.
There have been no documented cases of abuse or coercion involving physician-assisted suicide since Oregon became the first state to allow it in 1997, according to Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group.
The Delaware bill passed each chamber of the General Assembly with just the majority of votes needed to pass. It’s the latest iteration of legislation repeatedly introduced by Newark Democratic Rep. Paul Baumbach since 2015, and the only version to be voted on by the floor.
“This is about allowing adults facing a terminal illness to make critical decisions about their final days,” Baumbach said in a statement released after Tuesday’s vote.
The legislation allows an adult resident of Delaware who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and is expected to die within six months to request prescription lethal medications from a physician or advanced practice registered nurse who is primarily responsible for the terminal illness. A doctor or nurse consultant would have to confirm the diagnosis and prognosis of the patient, who must have “decision-making capacity”.
The patient would have to be evaluated by a psychiatrist or psychologist if any of the medical professionals were concerned about the patient’s lack of decision-making ability. A person would also not qualify for physician-assisted suicide just because of age or disability.
The patient would have to make two oral requests for a lethal prescription, followed by a written request, and would have to wait at least 15 days after the initial request before receiving and self-administering the medications. The responsible doctor or nurse must wait at least 48 hours after the written request, which must be signed by two witnesses, before prescribing the medications.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
