Published March 15. 2021 5:52PM
I write concerning HB-6425, An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients.
The Connecticut legislature will soon be voting on a humane and badly needed bill that offers an option for patients diagnosed as terminally ill with a life expectancy of six months or less. A patient may ask his or her doctor to prescribe life-ending medication that may be ingested to end suffering, if and when the patient chooses. Modeled on legislation that has been effective in Oregon for 23 years, the bill provides protection for patients and doctors who decide to participate. Nine states and Washington D.C. have similar laws. There has been no evidence of violations, abuse or undesirable expansion and no adverse impact on end-of-life care as a result.