The right to have the option of assisted suicide for people who are expected to die within the next six months won the Senators vote 23-14. This bill will become a law after Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill.
According to News Max on September 12, it is unclear if Brown will sign this bill into law. The ambiguity surrounding the Governor putting his signature on this bill and making it a law stems from his history as a former Jesuit seminarian. Brown has not indicated what he is planning to do, but folks knowing his past history are wondering if this will prevent him from signing this bill.
Supporters of this right-to-die bill across the nation are hoping this is the first positive step towards other states voting to put this law on their books. As with most bills, there are always opponents and with this right-to-die bill being such a hot button issue, it has more than its fair share of opponents. Groups who advocate for people with disabilities and the Catholic Church, along with other religious groups have spoken out against this law.
According to The Wall Street Journal, California will become the fifth state with a right-to-die law if Brown does sign this bill. Vermont, Washington and Oregon already have the assisted suicide law on their books and it has been passed in Montana’s courts.
The California law is modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity law, which was passed by the voters in that state back in 1994. They were the nation’s first state to allow terminally ill patients fitting the criteria of the expected time of death window to choose the time of their own death.
Article Appeared @http://www.examiner.com/article/california-passes-right-to-die-just-a-governor-brown-signature-away-from-law?cid=PROG-NewsBlock1-Article-CaliforniaRightToDie