A week ago, both houses of the California Legislature passed the End of Life Options Act.
This Act will allow terminally ill patients to decide if they want to die peacefully at a time of their choosing.
Adult patients will have to have a disease that is fatal and be near the end of their lives. There is a series of steps that have to be followed before approval is granted. The patient has to be of sound mind, has to ask her PCP to prescribe the medication, on two separate occasions at least 15 days apart. She has to have a second opnion of her diagnosis and prognosis and also tell the doctor to whom she's referred that she wants to be allowed to die in her own time. Both doctors must agree to her request. Other steps are also required to determine if the patient is under duress, for example. The full requirements are here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/... And here http://www.acssurgerynews.com/...[tt_news]=433961&cHash=23f542775425a9788b7e9dbad250e259
This legislation has been proposed in the past and been defeated. Perhaps because of the Brittany Maynard story https://en.wikipedia.org/... , sentiments and thinking have changed. The thinking of the California Medical Society certainly did.
More below the puff of orange ectoplasm.
Virtually all medical societies and professional organizations in the U.S. oppose death with dignity acts. There are a variety of reasons.
* Doctors save lives, they shouldn't be involved in taking them.
* Prescribing a medication that would allow a patient to die would be unethical.
* Prescribing medications for this purpose is illegal in most states and the physician would face legal consequences.
* physicians may feel guilt over doing so, it may go against their belief systems, they may feel like murderers or executioners.
Anti-death with dignity groups have come up with a number of reasons:
* Only God should decide when life ends.
* Giving a patient a prescription that is specifically used to cause death is immoral, l
illegal and makes the physician a murderer. Some groups call for physicians who write these prescriptions to be prosecuted for murder.
* The bible speaks out against murder.
* There could always be a last-minute miracle.
There are others beside these reasons; these are just t few.
The California law allows physicians who feel uncomfortable in performing this practice to opt out. They can't be forced to issue the fatal prescription.
Allowing a patient lo live in pain, fear and anxiety when she's approaching the end of her life is unethical to me. Others may feel differently. And even some bioethicists are divided on this issue.
If the state has a law allowing for death with dignity, then the physician can write the prescription when the patient meets the criteria and not break the law.
I'll leave arguments against the religious objections to the religious.
There's an important difference in the medical thinking in California, however. Until recently, the California Medical Society (CMA) spoke out against death with dignity laws. The CMA is a large, state-wide organization of physicians. Their statements carry some weight. The CMA has not started supporting death with dignity, but it's changed its stance. It no longer speaks out against it. It's changed it's position to neutral. But a soft neutral that seems lean toward supporting the end of life for terminally ill adults. It says:
In May, the California Medical Association (CMA) became the first state medical society to change its stance against physician-assisted suicide to that of being neutral.
“The decision to participate in the End of Life Option Act is a very personal one between a doctor and their patient, which is why CMA has removed policy that outright objects to physicians aiding terminally ill patients in end of life options,” Dr. Luther F. Cobb, CMA president, said in a statement. “We believe it is up to the individual physician and their patient to decide voluntarily whether the End of Life Option Act is something in which they want to engage. Protecting that physician-patient relationship is essential.”
http://www.acssurgerynews.com/...[tt_news]=433961&cHash=23f542775425a9788b7e9dbad250e259
This may not seem like much, changing position from anti- to neutral, but it is. And it's getting news play in many of the professional journals (the link above is from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) website.) The ACS is a national professional society for surgeons.
The public in California is also on board. Republicans favot this act by about 66%, Independents and Liberals support it with even higher percentages.
Of course, the anti-death with dignity supporters are still working to defeat this legislation. How? Well they'are bombarding Gov. Jerry Brown's office with emails and phone calls. They want him to veto the bill.
And the Catholic Church is exerting pressure to get Brown to veto the bill. The Church has been completely opposed to all of these bills. Brown hasn't publicly spoken out as to whether he will or won't sign the End of Life Option Act. Brown was educated as a Jesuit and, presumably has very conservative beliefs on this issue - something like death should be the prerogative of God. Also, with the Pope's visit beginning shortly, that may put increased pressure on Brown, as well, to veto the bill.
The bill passed on 9/11. The Governor has 12 days to either sign it, veto it or do nothing. If he does nothing or signs it, it will become law in January 2016. If he vertoes it, it will take more years of fighting to get it passed again. Or the organizers may have to take it to the people to get it put up for a vote. Both are long, wasteful and time-consuming processes. Especially when all it would take is Brown's signature. Even more importantly, several cancer sufferers spoke at a rally outside of the capitol. Several are dying right now. Even if Brown signs, some may die even before the bill goes into effect. Certainly many more will die fo there are further delays.
Time is running out and the right wing, Catholics and other religious are fighting.
What can we do? Send off an email to Gerry Brown and/or give him a call. Ask him the see what the majority of the people and Legislators want him to do, sign the bill. Remind him of the terminally ill who are suffering now and want to right to death with dignity.
You can let him know what you think via email governor@governor.ca.gov or by phone 916.445.2841