Richfield Resident With ALS Asks For Assisted Suicide

SAINT PAUL, MN — A bill introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives would establish a legal "end-of-life option" for terminally ill adults. Several Democrats have signed on to co-sponsor the bill authored by Rep. Mike Freiberg, a Democrat from Golden Valley.

Currently, eight states and Washington, D.C. allow assisted suicide.

In the Star Tribune opinion section Tuesday, a resident in Richfield with ALS is asking that voters and lawmakers support the measure to allow end-of-life options.

"This legislation is especially important to me," writes Bobbi Jacobsen.

"I have been living with ALS for over 20 years now. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a fatal condition of the nervous system. The signals my brain sends through the nerves that control movement are less frequently getting through to my muscles. I can no longer speak intelligibly, walk, dress, or use the bathroom without assistance."

Jacobsen adds that "most people with ALS suffer an agonizing death as one organ after another shuts down."

"Before I reach this stage, I’d like to have the option for a peaceful, painless death."

Read the text of the bill below: