Governor Brown signs end of life option act
Sen. Bill Monning
– On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act, coauthored by Paso Robles’ state senator Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which provides mentally-capable, terminally-ill Californians with the option to request a doctor’s prescription for aid-in-dying medication. This second extraordinary session bill was modeled after senators Lois Wolk (D-Davis) and Monning’s Senate Bill (SB) 128 and continued the effort to enact the End of Life Option Act in California this year.
“I am comforted knowing that terminally ill Californians will now be able to exercise this right in California,” Monning said. “As California becomes the fifth state to allow aid-in-dying, the real victory is for those who have fought so valiantly to establish this right for individuals faced with difficult end of life decisions, as Brittany Maynard did. I am proud to have fought alongside such courageous people as Brittany’s family, Christy O’Donnell, Jennifer Glass, Dr. Robert Olvera, and so many other families.”
Assembly Bill (AB) X2 15, authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and coauthored by senators Monning and Wolk, allows terminally-ill individuals to obtain a prescription from their physician for medication to be self-administered to end their own lives. Two physicians must confirm a prognosis of six months or less, a written request and two oral requests must be made by the terminally-ill patient a minimum of 15 days apart and two witnesses must attest to the request.
“I am thankful that after careful deliberation, Governor Brown agrees that this is an important option needed for terminally ill individuals,” Monning said. “The Governor’s signature allows Californians to determine the quality of their final days of life based on their own personal beliefs, and I am confident that many terminally ill Californians and their families will welcome the ability to consider this option for a compassionate and peaceful transition.”
According to a recent study conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, 76 percent of Californians polled support aid-in-dying medication for terminally ill individuals.
ABX2 15 will be enacted 91 days after the second extraordinary session is adjourned.
