Politics
Hawaii to become 6th U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide
Hawaii is set to become the sixth U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide after lawmakers voted in favor of the issue after years of campaigning. Governor David Ige has said he will sign the bill into law.
House Bill 2739, which is also known as the “Our Care, Our Choice Act,” passed the Hawaii Senate on Thursday in a 23-2 vote. The state’s House of Representatives, which rejected a similar bill just over a year ago, approved the bill on March 6 in a 39-12 vote.
The bill now heads to Governor Ige, who had called on lawmakers to vote in favor of physician-assisted suicide. “Mentally competent, terminally ill people who are in pain and who are suffering should be given the choice to end their lives with grace, dignity and peace,” he said on February 27.
Under House Bill 2739, mentally competent adults who live in the state and have a terminal illness will be able to request and receive prescription medication that allows them to die in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner. It does not apply to those under the age of 18.
A patient who seeks physician-assisted suicide will have to make two verbal requests which are separated by at least 20 days and a written request which is witnessed by 2 people. Criminal penalties will be created for anyone who coerces someone to request a prescription.
Before approving a request, two health care providers will have to confirm the patient’s prognosis and a counselor will have to confirm he or she is capable and not suffering from depression or any other condition which may interfere with their ability to make an informed decision.
Physician-assisted suicide is different from euthanasia as the latter allows a doctor to actively end a patient’s life.
Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, California, Vermont, and Colorado, as well as the District of Columbia. Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Canada. Passive euthanasia is legal in India.
-
Legal5 days ago
Arkansas Amber Alert: Trixie Studer missing from Logan County
-
Legal7 days ago
Colorado Amber Alert: Sandra Mendoza abducted in Pueblo
-
Legal1 week ago
Texas Amber Alert: 3 children missing from Austin
-
US News1 week ago
U.S. COVID update (October 14): 70,360 new cases, 1,189 new deaths
-
Legal2 days ago
5 killed in shooting at Fall City, Washington home, teenager arrested
-
Legal23 hours ago
Suspect arrested in shootings at Democratic Party campaign office in Arizona
-
Entertainment2 days ago
Former ‘Iron Maiden’ singer Paul Di’Anno dead at 66
-
Entertainment7 days ago
Former ‘One Direction’ star Liam Payne dead at 31