Assisted Suicide Bill Signed Into Law

Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law this week a bill that makes physician-assisted suicide legal in California under strict guidelines.

The bill, known as the “End of Life Option Act,” allows patients who are diagnosed as terminally ill and in sound mental health the option to have drugs prescribed to end their life after their request has been carefully scrutinized by two physicians.  Its signing makes California the fourth state in the U.S. to legalize physician-assisted suicide, after Oregon, Washington and Montana.

Brown explained his rationale for signing the bill with a particularly personal signing statement.

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” wrote Brown, who said he reviewed materials from physicians, religious leaders and disability rights advocates who voiced their opposition. “I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn't deny that right for others.”

Momentum for physician-assisted suicide picked up last year after terminally ill California resident Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon to take advantage of its law in order to end her life.

A new Field Poll that was concluded the day before the bill was signed into law showed wide support for the legislation, with 65% of all voters favoring it.  Seventy percent of Democrats and 55% of Republicans favored its implementation, and with support of nearly two-thirds of all voters across age lines. The Field Poll concluded that support for physician-assisted suicide has remained consistent in California since the mid-1990s.