California assisted death bill finished for the year

Photo of Brittany Maynard

Brittany Lauren Maynard was an American woman with terminal brain cancer who decided that she would end her own life "when the time seemed right." She was an advocate for the legalization of aid in dying. Wikipedia

Born: November 19, 1984, Anaheim, CA

Died: November 1, 2014, Portland, OR

Spouse: Dan Diaz (m. 2012–2014)

Parents: Debbie Ziegler

Education: University of California, Irvine (2010),

California’s controversial assisted death bill is done for the year, according to the Assembly Health Committee. In an e-mail to legislative offices, committee secretary Patty Rodgers wrote, “The authors will not pursue this bill this year, waiting on a statement from the authors explaining details and future plans.” Senate Bill 128 would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients. It passed the Senate last month, but stalled in the Assembly Health Committee two weeks ago over increasing objections from Latino Democrats. Past attempts to legalize assisted death in California also collapsed, but SB 128’s champions believed that public sentiment had turned in their favor. They also surmounted a major political obstacle when the California Medical Association silenced its longstanding aversion to helping ailing patients die. But the Catholic Church remained firmly opposed to the bill, arguing that it was an ethical violation. Proponents were not able to sway a majority of members on the Assembly Health Committee, some of whom pointed to personal experiences that counseled them against backing the bill. “You’ve got to look at what I’ve done before the Legislature ... working to help save and protect peoples’ lives, giving that option, a second chance at life,” Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, D-Pomona, who worked as an emergency medical technician, said Monday. “Letting folks have that option to end their life, it’s just something I can’t come to grips with.” Some members denied that religious objections were a decisive factor. “There are times when I can be in clear policy opposition to the church, clearly with a pro-choice stand as a Democrat, I can say ‘no’ to the church,” Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, a practicing Catholic who once weighed entering the seminary, said on Monday. “It’s more of an internal struggle of how to look at the end of life more than any impact of religious or political” pressure.