Friday, March 8, 2024

California Bill will expand law from assisted suicide to euthanasia and more.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

California Senator Catherine Blakespear (D) has sponsored the most extreme assisted suicide expansion bill in America by introducing Senate Bill 1196

SB 1196 will expand the California assisted suicide law by:

1. Changing the criteria from terminally ill (6 month prognosis) to the Canadian model: “a grievous and irremediable medical condition.” meaning No time limit.

2. Allow people with early to mid-stage dementia to consent to assisted suicide/euthanasia; even though they have a condition that impairs their capacity to consent. 

3. Allow euthanasia—by IV, as in Canada. Currently, California permits assisted suicide (lethal poison that a person takes orally at the time and place of their own choosing, with or without witnesses)

4. Remove the California residency requirement. This would allow California to join Oregon and Vermont, which dropped their residency requirements and now allow suicide tourism.

5. Remove the 48 hour waiting period between first and second request by the patient. Same day death. 

6. The California assisted suicide law is scheduled to sunset in 2031. This bill proposes to remove the sunset date.

Changing the California assisted suicide law to euthanasia, is not simply changing how the act is done it is legalizing a new act by amending California Homicide Laws. Assisted suicide requires medical practitioners to be directly involved in an act of killing someone. Euthanasia requires the medical practitioner to actively carry out the act. Canada legalized euthanasia by creating an exception to homicide, California will need to do the same.

Changing the criteria from a terminal illness (6 months prognosis) to having a 'grievous and irremediable medical condition' will lead to people with disabilities "qualifying" for death by lethal poison for reasons of poverty, homelessness, an inability to obtain necessary services or difficulty with obtaining medical treatment as has happened in Canada. (Article Link).

Euthanasia is sold to the public as allowing competent adults who are capable of consenting to die by lethal poison. Allowing euthanasia for people with dementia permits medical practitioners to kill someone who is not competent and unable to consent.

Removing the 48-hour waiting period will enable a same day death by euthanasia.

Homicide tourism would be permitted if Bill SB 1196 is passed since the bill permits death by euthanasia/homicide and it removes the California residency requirement.

Thank you to Dr Mark Komrad for alerting me to the purpose of Bill SB 1196.

California needs to reject Bill SB 1196.

Don't follow Canada's lead.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for this heads up. I can now go into the legislative website and follow the progress of this bil. Better yet, I can lodge my opinion and opposition with the author and committee members currently reviewing the bill.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The most important of these proposed changes might be including patients suffering from mental disorders. Canada will also face this choice: CANADA WILL EXPAND THE RIGHT-TO-DIE
    TO COVER ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS.

    The first patients who will benefit
    from expanding MAiD in Canada
    might be people with mental disability
    due to Alzheimer's disease
    ---or some other forms of dementia.

    We might ask families who have followed
    the decline of someone with Alzheimer's
    just WHEN IN THE KNOWN DECLINE
    would be the best time to die?

    What MILESTONES should be passed
    before the family decides that death would be better
    than keeping the patient alive
    for a few more months or years?

    Some patients will record
    ADVANCE APPROVAL for an earlier death.
    But most will lack that foresight.

    In any case, choosing the BEST DAY TO DIE
    will fall upon the PROXIES---not the PATIENT.
    Patients with mental disability
    should not be expected to make life-ending decisions.

    Following medical information and advice,
    the FAMILY (or some selected to be official proxies)
    will choose the BEST DAY for this life to end.

    Then, they will choose the best METHOD of dying:

    1. Provide comfort-care only.

    2. Induce a terminal coma.

    3. Give up all medical supports.

    4. Withdraw water.

    5. Use gentle poison.

    Here is a full chapter exploring all dimensions
    of making life-ending decisions for patients with Alzheimer's.
    This advice includes about a dozen
    SAFEGUARD-PROCEDURES
    to make certain that the chosen death
    at a particular time is a wise decision:

    LIFE-ENDING DECISIONS
    FOR ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark---freelibrary-3puxk/CY-MD-ALZ.html

    All other places on the planet Earth
    that now have right-to-die laws
    (or are considering new laws for end-of-life care)
    should carefully watch the first places that allow
    MERCIFUL DEATH FOR PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA.

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    related reading:

    EXTENDING THE RIGHT-TO-DIE
    TO ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS:
    USE THE MEDICAL MODEL.
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=114722747476998&id=104763195139620

    FOR ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS,
    PROXIES SHOULD BE EMPOWERED
    TO MAKE LIFE-ENDING DECISIONS.
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=117647117184561&id=104763195139620

    PROXIES ARE ALREADY MAKING
    SOME LIFE-ENDING DECISIONS.
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=118822787066994&id=104763195139620

    EXPANDING THE RIGHT-TO-DIE:
    MERCIFUL DEATH FOR MENTAL PATIENTS.
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid07gCmYosHBdCDQty89ZQywL88YmDYp4Ww1m5jJVLJysexwKazX1gef22xr8mFD5MVl&id=100068202590044

    MERCIFUL DEATH
    FOR PATIENTS IN
    PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE.
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02NfkqTvi8mXbegxvE1GsrN5c8MVot7zRomYJ1BbQf8fgGrLXcmjxHgZRfvJaVyrbhl&id=100068202590044

    ADVANCE APPROVAL FOR DEATH
    ---ESPECIALLY IF WE LOSE MENTAL CAPACITY
    (Canada).
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=117933593822580&id=104763195139620

    _________________________________________________________
    Ch. I (13) Choosing Death for Others---rev. 3-12-2024

    ReplyDelete