California Amendments Seek to Weaken Patient Protections, Attestation Provisions 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]

Colombia Legislature Defeats Bill to Legalize Euthanasia Again

By Michael Cook

For entire article, click here.

The Colombian legislature has once again failed to pass a law legalizing euthanasia. Earlier this week a bill proposed by representative Juan Fernando Reyes Kuri needed to reach 85 votes in favour, but fell two votes short.

Although Colombia is often described as a country where euthanasia is legal, the actual situation is complicated. In 1997 the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that that “the State cannot oppose the decision of an individual who does not wish to continue living and who requests help to die when suffering from a terminal illness that causes unbearable pain, incompatible with his idea of dignity”. It directed the legislature to pass a law regulating the right to die.

However, more than 20 years have passed and one bill after another has failed.

Washington State: Conrad Reynoldson Makes a Difference

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

Bill HB 1141, which had sought to expand Washington State's assisted suicide and euthanasia law, is dead. From my vantage point, a big reason was a young lawyer named Conrad Reynoldson (pictured here).  

Reynoldson is founder and lead attorney of Washington Civil & Disability Advocate, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit, formed to ensure individuals with disabilities a low-cost option to protect their civil rights.

Reynoldson, himself, did not take the credit, sending out an email thanking others for the win. 

Washington State Expansion Bill Dead

By Barbara Lyons (pictured here)

The Washington State expansion of assisted suicide bill, HB 1141, is dead. It passed in the House by a 60-37 vote and cleared several Senate committees.  

Thanks to the dedicated, persistent work of a diverse coalition of people in the disability rights, medical, right-to-life and faith communities, the Senate adjourned last night without taking up the bill. It is dead for this session.  

Jersey Debates Euthanasia

Jersey is a British Crown dependency, near the coast of Normandy France.  

On April 6, 2021, ITV Channel reporter Sophie Dulson provided this report.

The law on assisted dying [euthanasia] in Jersey is being reviewed by a Citizen's Jury, and it is expected to start a conversation which could lead to a debate on the law in Jersey's States Assembly.

The panel is made up of 23 members who will hear evidence on both sides of the assisted dying debate before reaching a conclusion by the end of May 2021. 

French Euthanasia Bill Blocked

By Hannah Thompson 

To view original article, click here.

The Social Affairs Commission had debated and voted for the bill, but it has now been blocked by 3,000 amendments.

A proposal to legalise assisted dying for people with incurable diseases has been blocked in the French parliament, largely by five opposition party MPs.

The MPs from the opposition party Les Républicains submitted 2,158 amendments to the bill, of a total of 3,000. This means the proposal is very unlikely to be adopted as planned on Thursday April 8.