The Assisted Suicide Bill in California was dropped after unanimous rage from almost every legislator present.
Following nearly unanimous condemnation, which included opposition from the bill’s original author who had granted assisted suicide authority in the state, California State Senator Catherine Blakespear revoked her legislation to expand the assisted suicide program in the state.
The law that was being presented would have expanded the scope of the regulations that govern assisted suicide in the state to include “serious and incurable” diseases that make the death of an individual “reasonably foreseeable” and cause a “irreversible decline in capability.”
Not only would the bill have allowed for self-administered suicide injections in addition to tablets, but it would have also included dementia in the middle stages as a condition that would have been covered.
A varied coalition of groups and individuals came together to oppose the expansion. State Senator Susan Eggman, who was the architect of the initial legislation in the state that allowed assisted suicide in 2016, also served as the leader of this alliance.
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The Republicans, on the other hand, pointed to Canada as evidence of a steep decline. Recent events have resulted in Canada delaying until 2027 the expansion of its assisted suicide program to cover people who suffer from mental medical conditions. In spite of this, a young autistic woman who appeared to be in perfect health was recently granted the right to get medical assistance in ending her life peacefully.
Although California’s total suicide rate is lower than that of most other states, its rural counties have up to three times the suicide rate of their urban, coastal counterparts. Suicide rates nationally are highest for those 75 years of age and older (44 suicides per 100,000 deaths in this group), and second highest for people 25 to 34 (30.2 per 100,000 deaths).
Reference: The Center Square