Monday, April 22, 2024

Senator Blakespear removed assisted suicide expansion bill.

The following article was published by Choice is an Illusion.

California Senate Chamber
Senator Catherine Blakespear has removed proposed Senate Bill 1196, seeking to expand assisted suicide and euthanasia in California, from consideration prior to its first hearing Blakespear said in a statement.

"At this point, there is a reluctance from many around me to take up this discussion, and the future is unclear,”

“The topic, however, remains of great interest to me and to those who have supported this bill thus far.”

Senator Susan Eggman, who authored the original act in 2016, commented that pushing forward now would would create a risk of pushback. She stated:

While I have compassion for those desiring further change, pushing for too much too soon puts CA [California] & the country at risk of losing the gains we have made for personal autonomy....

With just a few weeks left to pass bills through policy committees before the Legislature's summer recess, it's unlikely another lawmaker would propos[e] a similar measure this year.

Link to the original article.

Senate Bill 1196 shows us the direction of the American euthanasia lobby. The Bill was only withdrawn because, as Senator Eggman stated it was "pushing for too much too soon."

Article: Good news: California assisted suicide expansion bill is dead. (Link)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure Senator Eggman's comments were influential, but the bill was facing widespread opposition from healthcare providers, provider professional associations, disease-specific advocacy groups, health systems, and others. Many saw it as an unwanted plunge down the slippery slope. Even Compassion&Choices opposed it. So credit for the defeat goes well beyond Sen Eggman.

Alex Schadenberg said...

Dear Anonymous:

I am thankful to the many people who recognized how horrible SB 1196 was and I am well aware that Compassion and Choices also opposed the bill. The bill was not pulled because the assisted suicide lobby, including Compassion and Choices, didn't support the bill, but it was pulled and opposed by C & C because they believed it would have repercussions in other jurisdictions where they are trying to legalize assisted suicide.

I expect, in a few years, bills like SB 1196 will be normalized.