SB 128 – The End of Life Option Act
As has been widely reported in the media, legislation has been introduced in Sacramento that would legalize physician prescribing of lethal medications to terminally ill patients who request assistance ending their lives. If SB 128 (Wolk), The End of Life Option Act, is enacted into law, California would join five other states in allowing and regulating physician-assisted suicide / physician aid-in-dying (PAS / PAD). Click here to access the full text of the bill.
The California Medical Association (CMA) has current, longstanding policy in opposition to PAS and has successfully helped defeat previous efforts to legalize it in the state legislature and through the ballot. However, recognizing that views on many social issues have shifted in the years since that policy was fully debated and adopted, and aware of data suggesting that opinions within the physician community itself may have changed, CMA's Council on Ethical Affairs and Council on Legislation are reassessing CMA policy and will make recommendations to CMA's Board of Trustees in April regarding reaffirmation or modification of CMA policy on PAS / PAD and CMA’s response to SB 128.
SDCMS-CMA members are invited to contribute your views to this discussion. We invite you to log onto the CMA House of Delegates (HOD) website to register your opinion. On the HOD homepage, click on the “Discussions” tab (right below the blue House of Delegates banner) to post your comments and view what your colleagues are saying. The CMA Board of Trustees will address this issue at its April 13 meeting.
As we transition into the new governance structure approved by the House last December (to become fully effective in 2016), your online testimony on this issue will serve to further familiarize you with the process to be implemented as resolutions are addressed in a year-round fashion by CMA councils, including receipt of online testimony in the manner of the virtual reference committees the House began phasing in two years ago. In view of the importance of this particular issue to the House in the past, your Speakers believe the Board will benefit from the opinions of the House as it debates any policy changes. We thank you in advance for your time and your input.
Sincerely,
Theodore M. Mazer, MD
Speaker of the House
Lee T. Snook, Jr, MD
Vice Speaker of the House