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scheduled tribe. Paul, Min. (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature began debating Thursday whether the state should add to the list of those that allow physician-assisted suicide.
The House Health Committee took the unusual step of holding a hearing on the bill before the legislative session formally convened on Feb. 12. The lead sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mike Freberg of Golden Valley, who first introduced a similar proposal in 2015, said earlier in a press conference he was confident it would pass the House at least this year. Years of experience in states with similar laws, such as Oregon and Washington, show that they work as intended, he said, and they are used only by a narrow group of patients with terminal illnesses.
Nancy Eggens of Corcoran, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in late 2022, told reporters she wants the right to choose a peaceful, pain-free death on her own terms.
“This bill has already been before the Minnesota legislature for 10 years. It is time to act,” Undre said. “As I imagine the end of my life, I want to be able to say goodbye and go in peace. I’m grateful we have hospice as an option. I would use this for maximum comfort. But if that’s not enough, in the end, I want the option to die softly in my sleep.”
Ten states and the District of Columbia already allow some form of physician-assisted suicide, while supporters are making fresh plans to pass it this year in several other states. Oregon became the first state to legalize it in 1994. Vermont removed its residency requirement last May, while Oregon did so in 2022.
While a New York bill has been stalled for years, it’s slowly gaining momentum with more lawmakers signing on as sponsors. Supporters in Connecticut held a news conference two weeks ago to announce the renewed effort, after it passed one committee last year but was stalled in another. A terminally ill Connecticut woman made news earlier this month after traveling to Vermont to end her life.
The Minnesota bill would allow patients 18 and older who are suffering from terminal illnesses and who have less than six months to live to receive the medications they need to end their lives. Can take. Safeguards include a requirement that two providers, one of whom must be a physician, must certify that the patient meets the criteria. Patients must have the mental capacity to make their own health care decisions and provide informed consent, so people suffering from dementia will not be eligible. They will have to take medicines themselves. The bill does not require that patients be Minnesota residents.
Freberg said she’s optimistic because her bill already has about 25 cosponsors, and it is “consistent with legislation that advances bodily autonomy” — abortion and trans rights bills — that became law last year. But its prospects are less clear in the Senate, where Democrats hold only a one-seat majority and one Democratic senator, John Hoffman of Champlin, has already come out against the proposal.
Freberg said he expects to get some Republican support. But no GOP lawmakers were present on the committee at the start of the hearing, leading to a huge crowd and a long list of witnesses, though they arrived later and offered amendments aimed at reducing the bill’s impact.
“Intentionally ending human life is wrong. It doesn’t matter what we call it,” testified Chris Massoglia of Blaine, representing Americans United for Life. “Suicide is not health care. And because of advances in palliative and end-of-life care it is completely unnecessary.”
Nancy Utoft, president of the Minnesota Alliance for Ethical Healthcare, previously said at a news conference that the law lacks enough safeguards to protect the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable people. Existing law already gives people the right to make a legally binding end-of-care health care directive, the right to hospice and palliative care, and the right to refuse care, she said.
Utoft said, “If these rights were better known and enforced, we would not hear the heartbreaking stories of over-treatment often shared by assisted suicide advocates.” Let’s prioritize policies that promote better care for all.
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Associated Press writer Mason Khan in Albany, New York contributed to this story.
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