Politics & Government
Attorney General Seeks To Revive CA 'Right-To-Die' Law
Between June 9, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016, about 200 terminally ill patients received prescriptions to end their lives in CA, officials say.
Action was taken this week to reverse a California trial court's ruling that put an end to the state's right-to-die law, according to the California Attorney General's Office.
"We are taking action today to reverse the trial court's decision and keep the California End of Life Option Act in place during the appeals process," Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office said on Monday.
A petition by Becerra's office to the 4th District Court of Appeal asks for an immediate stay of the decision by a judge in Riverside County Superior Court that overturned the act, which allowed terminally ill patients diagnosed with six or less months to live to take a prescription to end their life.
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"We thank Attorney General Becerra for filing his emergency request to reverse the lower court's ruling that seeks to take away the peaceful option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill Californian's," said John Kappos, an attorney with the O'Melveny law firm representing Compassion & Choices, which led the campaign to pass the law.
Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit that aims to improve and expand health care options for the end of life, officials with the group said.
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The Riverside County judge invalidated the law because he said that it was not sufficiently related to the subject of a special legislative session in which it was passed, the petition says.
According to the petition, the judge's ruling is incorrect because the act was part of a special session to "improve the efficiency and the efficacy of the health care system and improve the health of Californian's," which is clearly what the act does.
Between June 9, 2016, and December 31, 2016, about 200 terminally ill patients received prescriptions to end their lives, the petition says, citing a report by the California Department of Public Health. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news from your California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!)
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California Assisted Suicide Law Overturned In Court
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By Bay City News Service / Image via Photographee.eu, Shutterstock.com
