Washington State House Bill 1035 prevents health care entities from prohibiting assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Washington State House Bill 1035 is being debated in the Washington State legislature. HB 1035 will prevent Health care entities from prohibiting health care staff from participating in assisted suicide. 

House Bill 1035 is an extension to Senate Bill 5179 that expanded the Washington State assisted suicide law last year.

House Bill 1035 removes the rights of religiously affiliated medical institutions in Washington State that currently prohibit assisted suicide. The bill states:

Section 2 (3) A health care entity may not discharge, demote, suspend, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against a health care provider for providing services in compliance with this section.

Section 3 (a) A person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for participating in good faith compliance with this chapter. This includes being present when a qualified patient takes the prescribed medication to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner;

(b) A professional organization or association, or health care provider, may not subject a person to censure, discipline, suspension, loss of license, loss of privileges, loss of membership, or other penalty for participating or refusing to participate in good faith compliance with this chapter.

The assisted suicide lobby wants to remove the right of religiously affiliated healthcare institutions from prohibiting medical practitioners from participating in assisted suicide.

Last year, Washington State Senate Bill 5179 expanded the state's assisted suicide law (among other ways) by:

1. Changed the definition of who can approve and prescribe assisted suicide from physicians to "qualified medical providers" which includes: physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
2. Expanded who can counsel a person when the consent is considered questionable, from psychiatrists or psychologists to include independent clinical social worker, advanced social worker, mental health counselor, or psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner.
3. Permitted the lethal drug cocktails to be delivered by courier or mail service.
4. Shortened the waiting period from 15 days to 7 days.
5. It allowed the "qualified medical provider" to waive the 7 day waiting period if someone is nearing death, allowing a same day death.
   
6. It limited the right of a religiously based healthcare provider from preventing an employee from providing assisted suicide.

SB 5179 provided several minor amendments to the assisted suicide law that I have not listed.