Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, a Democrat, stated that he was “proud” to legalize physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
Meyer signed
House Bill 140 into law on Tuesday, amending Delaware’s code concerning end-of-life options and making it the 11th state in the nation to legalize assisted suicide in certain situations.
‘It turns the tools of healing into lethal weapons.’
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Eric Morrison (D), permits mentally capable adults diagnosed with a terminal illness to opt for physician-assisted suicide if they are given only six months or less to live. It requires that those considering the life-terminating option be presented with alternative options, such as comfort care, palliative care, hospice, and pain control. Additionally, the law first requires two waiting periods and a second medical opinion on the patient’s prognosis.
The bill reads, “This Act permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual’s life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual’s attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual’s diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily.”
Upon signing the bill into law on Tuesday, Meyer claimed it advanced “compassion.”
“We’re acknowledging today that even in the last moments of life, compassion matters,” he stated. “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,” Meyer said. “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.”
Delaware lawmakers shot down the measure last year.
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C., have similar laws.
Delaware’s End-of-Life Options Act will go into effect next year.
RELATED: England legalizes assisted suicide — former prime minister says government abuse will be prevented
Paul Dupont, the policy director at the American Principles Project, told Blaze News that Delaware’s new law signals a “troubling trend.”
“Delaware becoming the 11th state to legalize physician-assisted suicide is a symptom of the troubling trend in our culture that continues to devalue life to the point of promoting death as a solution to suffering. It undermines the dignity of every person and creates an environment where the elderly, disabled, and marginalized feel their lives are burdens,” Dupont said.
He added, “Instead of allowing this ‘death culture’ to take over our country, states need to pass pro-life and pro-family legislation that affirms the worth of every individual to counter these harmful policies.”
Ryan T. Anderson with the Ethics and Public Policy Center argued that physician-assisted suicide “violates the fundamental principles of medical care.”
Anderson told Blaze News, “It turns the tools of healing into lethal weapons. And it threatens to fundamentally distort the doctor-patient relationship because it reduces patients’ trust in doctors and doctors’ undivided commitment to the life and health of their patients.”
“The ‘option’ of physician-assisted suicide provides perverse incentives for insurance providers — public and private,” he continued. “It offers a quick way to cut costs in a world of increasingly scarce health care resources. And it’s the weak and vulnerable and marginalized who will be most at risk in a culture in which assisted suicide is permitted.”
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