Advocates of doctor-assisted suicide for the terminally ill want to give California lawmakers another chance to weigh in on the idea. A bill to allow assisted suicide will be re-introduced in the state assembly this week. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
State lawmakers have rejected a doctor-assisted suicide measure the last two years in a row. The bill would allow adults who are given less than six months to live to request a lethal dose of drugs from a doctor. Assemblywoman Patty Berg co-wrote the measure. Her chief of staff, Will Shuck, prefers to call it a compassionate choice.
Berg: Suicide suggests you have a choice between living and dying. We're talking about people…they have no choice to live. The choice of living is past. They have a choice between dying horribly, or dying mercifully.
The Catholic Church believes doctor-assisted suicide is morally wrong. The Church lobbied hard to defeat the measure last year, and is expected to do so again. Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
