Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, signed a bill Tuesday legalizing physician-assisted suicide for certain terminally ill patients, arguing that the measure is about “compassion, dignity, and respect for personal choice.”
The End-of-Life Options Act, which takes effect next year, allows mentally capable adults who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months or less to live to request a prescription to self-administer and end their lives.
“We’re acknowledging today that even in the last moments of life, compassion matters,” Meyer said at the bill signing. “Every Delawarean should have the right to face their final chapter with peace, dignity and control.”
“This signing today is about relieving suffering and giving families the comfort of knowing that their loved one was able to pass on their own terms, without unnecessary pain, and surrounded by the people they love most,” he continued.
Delaware is now the 11th state to allow medical aid in dying, joining California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Washington, D.C., also permits physician-assisted suicide.
“Today, Delaware joins a growing number of states in recognizing that end-of-life decisions belong to patients, not politicians,” Meyer said.
“This law is about compassion, dignity, and respect. It gives people facing unimaginable suffering the ability to choose peace and comfort, surrounded by those they love. After years of debate, I am proud to sign HB 140 into law.”
Several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, have also legalized so-called death with dignity.
The Delaware Legislature narrowly rejected the measure last year, but Meyer pushed for it this session and it passed last month.
The governor’s signature now ends nearly a decade of debate on the issue.
Under the new law, sponsored by Democrat state Rep. Eric Morrison, patients considering assisted suicide in the state must be presented with other options for end-of-life care, including comfort care, palliative care, hospice and pain control.
The bill requires two waiting periods and a second medical opinion on a patient’s prognoses before they can obtain a prescription for lethal medication.
State Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, a Democrat, said the law “is about honoring the autonomy and humanity of those facing unimaginable suffering from terminal illness.”
“This legislation exists due to the courage of patients, family members, and advocates who have shared deeply personal stories of love, loss and suffering,” he said in a statement.
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