'Death With Dignity' Bill Returns To Annapolis For Fourth Time

SILVER SPRING, MD — A bill that would make Maryland the seventh state to let terminally ill patients take their own lives with lethal drugs has returned to Annapolis.

This is the fourth time state lawmakers have introduced "death with dignity" legislation. When it was first introduced in 2015, it did not make it out of committee.

The "End–of–Life Option Act," sponsored by Sen. William Smith Jr., D-Montgomery, and Del. Shane Pendergrass, D-Howard, would allow Marylanders who have six months or less to live, as well as the mental capacity to make medical decisions, to self-administer the lethal medication.

"The first time we introduced the bill, I heard the quote that always stands in my mind: 'We are all one bad death away from supporting this bill.' And, to me, that just says it all," said Pendergrass. "Anyone who has been with a loved one who has suffered wants to have control over how they die."

Patch has reached out to Sen. Smith, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

According to the bill, those seeking physician-assisted suicide must personally request the medication and be a Maryland resident. In addition, two witnesses must be able to verify in writing that the patient isn't being coerced and is "of sound mind." One witness can be a relative, either by blood or marriage. The attending physician, however, cannot be a witness.

The bill is scheduled to go before the Health and Government Operations Committee Friday afternoon.

If the bill passes this legislative session, the Old Line State will join California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington in providing terminally ill residents with medication to hasten their death.

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