NUNEZ TO ASSIST NEW SUICIDE BILL.Byline: STEVE GEISSINGER Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO -- Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said Tuesday that he will join Van Nuys Democrat Lloyd Levine in leading a legislative move this year to establish an Oregon-style, physician-assisted suicide Noun 1. physician-assisted suicide - assisted suicide where the assistant is a physician assisted suicide - suicide of a terminally ill person that involves an assistant who serves to make dying as painless and dignified as possible law in California. A Senate committee narrowly rejected a similar bill by Levine and Assemblywoman as·sem·bly·wom·an n. A woman who is a member of a legislative assembly. Noun 1. assemblywoman - a woman assemblyman representative - a person who represents others Patty Berg
Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006) [1] , D-Santa Rosa, last year. But Levine and Berg said odds of passage have risen now that they have the support of Nunez, a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Democrat. The legislation, modeled after the nine-year-old Oregon Death With Dignity Act Ballot Measure 16 of 1994 established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800-995), which legalizes physician-assisted dying with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiative made Oregon the first U.S. , would allow adults diagnosed with less than six months to live to receive life-ending drugs from a doctor and take them by themselves. They would have to be determined to be mentally competent, see two doctors, make written and oral requests for the medicine, be counseled about alternatives and wait through a cooling-off time. Only the patient would be able to make the decision, not a family member or a guardian. A spokesman for Nunez, who leads the Democrat-dominated Assembly, said the speaker thought long and hard about taking on the high-profile role of joint author on the effort. Supporters say the bill would provide the terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. with an option to end suffering. But foes say it would devalue life and offends religious or ethical beliefs. Polls have found that a majority of Californians back the concept. Levine spokesman Alex Traverso said the lawmaker believes Nunez's support could lead to passage. The bill, due to be publicly introduced Thursday, will again face opposition from an influential coalition that includes the Catholic Conference and the California Disability Alliance, opponents said. sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com (916) 447-9302 |
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