Death with Dignity Proposal Passes Health Committee

A segment for KCET's award-winning TV show "SoCal Connected" has been produced in tandem with this story. Watch it here now.

A bill that would give terminally ill patients the option to request a life-ending prescription from a doctor passed the state Senate Health Committee on Wednesday afternoon. With news that the bill had passed the committee, proponents released a video of Brittany Maynard attesting to her experience with a terminal brain cancer diagnosis and subsequent move to Oregon to utilize its end-of-life law.

The proposal to follow in the footsteps of Oregon and some other states has been the subject of controversy, a topic covered in depth in this "SoCal Connected" segment.

During the hearing for SB 128, the End of Life Option Act, on Wednesday, proponents presented lawmakers with a transcript of Maynard's testimony. Maynard recorded the video less than three weeks before her death, last November.

"Making aid in dying a crime creates undue hardships and suffering for many people who are terminally ill and suffering tremendously," Maynard said in the video.

Maynard's mother, Debbie Ziegler testified at the hearing. "When Brittany first spoke about considering aid in dying, I didn't want to hear it," Ziegler said. "But as the brain cancer spread, my beloved daughter's suffering increased, and my feelings started to change," she said.

The next hearing is April 7, when the Senate Judiciary Committee will take the measure under submission.

"Our bill ensures that we honor the freedom to have end-of-life options, but with appropriate protections to prevent any abuse," said the bill's co-author, Lois Wolk (D-Davis). "This end-of-life decision should remain with the individual, as a matter of personal freedom and liberty without criminalizing those who help to honor our wishes." Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) is the bill's other co-sponsor.