California End of Life Option bill similar to proposed Nevada 'right to die' legislation
Nevada lawmakers will soon take up right to die legislation, just as California lawmakers are also doing, with a bill having passed through a state senate committee vote last month.
The committee on health cleared the California End of Life Option Act, March 25 on a vote of 6-2. The legislation is closely modeled on Oregon’s Death with Dignity legislation, allowing a terminally ill individual with six months or less to live the right to request and receive a prescription medication to hasten death in certain narrow circumstances.
A similar proposal in Nevada, Senate Bill 336, Patient Self-Determination Act, has been introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Backed by primary sponsor Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, and co-sponsored by Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Carson City, the Patient Self-Determination Act outlines the steps a patient must follow to qualify to receive a prescription to hasten death.
A patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill and have a prognosis of six months or less to live; be able to take the medication without assistance; and make three requests (two oral, one written) to his/her physician and go through two waiting periods. In addition, the patient must be examined by two physicians and determined to be mentally competent to make such a decision.
Parks pointed out that nationally, between 65 percent and 70 percent of Americans support the option of assisted dying.
“There is similar legislation pending in 26 other states right now, and I believe it is time for Nevada to have this conversation,” Parks said.
Peg Sandeen, Executive Director of Death with Dignity National Center said, “The Nevada bill is designed to give patients more options at the end of life and to uphold the integrity of the patient-physician relationship.”
Two other bills pending in the Nevada legislature address patient options in making end-of-life decisions by focusing on palliative care and on access to investigational drugs. Barbara Thornton, a Nevadan who is a retired vice president at The Hastings Center, an international bioethics consortium, said, “Individuals in Nevada who are dying deserve the best healthcare and treatment options available, and they deserve to have their own voices heard in end-of-life decision-making.
"For me, the proposed Nevada law is all about self-determination. In this state, we live our lives with a spirit of independence and autonomy, and we should be able to die in the manner in which we choose to live our lives.”
Sen. Parks noted that Nevada citizens who would like to voice an opinion on the Nevada Patient Self- Determination Act (SB 336) should visit the legislature’s Opinion Poll website here.
Senate Bill 336 provides for the following:
— Only adult residents of Nevada with a terminal illness may request and receive a prescription from their physician to hasten death. The terminally ill patient must self-administer the medication; no other person may assist them in taking the medication.
— The patient must be examined by two physicians who must both confirm that the patient is terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less to live and is mentally competent to make and communicate health care decisions.
— The patient must make three requests, two oral and one written. Two witnesses must attest to the written request. The oral requests are separated by a mandatory waiting period of 15 days and the written request must be at least 48 hours after the second oral request.
— The patient may choose to rescind the request or stop the process at any time.
The physician must discuss all available methods of treating or managing the terminal condition of the patient, including, comfort care, hospice care and pain control.
— The entire process is voluntary for everyone involved: patients, physicians, pharmacists, healthcare facilities and institutions.
— Any attempt to coerce an individual to utilize the law is punishable as a felony.