Amendments Seek to Weaken Patient Protections, Attestation Provisions Also Eliminated

 

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

On February 10, 2021, assisted suicide/euthanasia proponents introduced a bill seeking to amend California's End of Life Option Act. The bill, SB 380,  eliminates the Act's 2026 sunset date, and also allows a 15 day waiting period to be shortened to 48 hours in certain circumstances.[1]

Katy Grimes, editor of the California Globe (pictured), had this to say:

When it comes to carrying out the death penalty for convicted murders, the California Legislature finds the lethal drug cocktails "cruel and unusual punishment," which they say is a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Yet lawmakers were more than willing to approve a lethal drug cocktail to allow sick people to kill themselves.  I wrote [this] in 2015 as the California Legislature was considering [passage of the Act].[2]

The proposed amendments also eliminate the Act's "attestation" provisions.[3]

A hearing on SB 380 is set for May 10, 2021. This may be subject to change. 

Stephanie Packer Denied Life Saving Drugs

Ms. Packer

After the End of Life Option Act was implemented, Stephanie’s insurance company denied coverage of life-saving chemotherapy treatment, but said it would pay for “aid-in-dying” drugs, which would cost $1.20.

Stephanie has spoken out against assisted suicide in California and other states, saying, “I am so grateful that California’s assisted suicide law was overturned today. The bill’s proponents tout dignity, choice, compassion, and painlessness. I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. Choice is really an illusion for a very few. For too many, assisted suicide will be the only affordable ‘treatment’ that is offered them.”